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The Russian man on the street is perplexed and afraid. The citizens were always told that the “special military operation” would be short and sweet.
The invasion against the “Nazis” was sure to be decisive with a clear victory.
Vladimir Putin promised that no part of the war would touch everyday Russians. That view has changed as the Ukrainians have figured out a way to directly bring the war to the motherland.
After punishing Russian energy infrastructure for weeks with ballistic missiles and drones, Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces have shifted to new targets.
This time it is e-commerce facilities that are being destroyed, according to the Washington Post. The bombed warehouses are owned by Wildberries, the Russian equivalent of Amazon.
Causing Civilian Destruction
The fires caused by the strikes could be seen from space. Two large centers were hit by 400 drones on July 20 in Elektrostal near Moscow and Kotovsk in the Tambov region.
The buildings were flattened, and around eight people died, along with another 80 wounded.
More Sites Targeted
This group of strikes also hit another logistics center, additional oil facilities, and a house. These are examples of psychological warfare against Russia, and citizens are wondering if they could be the next victims.
The strikes have spread terror and have led some military observers to conclude that Ukraine is taking the initiative, has momentum, and could ultimately see victory.
The attacks against Wildberries sting Russia because the warehouses are supplied with drones and navigation parts that the Kremlin depends on for its own strikes against Ukraine.
Over a Billion Dollars in Damages
Russian military experts believe that Ukraine caused $1.3 billion in damages. This is one of the most expensive attacks during the war.
Zelensky thinks the strikes against civilian targets in Russia are warranted to answer Russian hits against non-combatants and the logistics company Nova Poshta, Moscow Times reported.
Wildberries also sells military kit like uniforms and helmets, plus body armor and dual-use components including fiber optic cable for drones.
The company’s founder, Tatyana Kim, said that the strikes were “terrible events for our company and our country” and “a pain that cannot be expressed in words.”
No More Illusions of Safety for Russia
Moscow Times interviewed Ukraine’s chief of drone operations, Robert Brovdi. “This is about destroying, within seconds, the illusion of a comfortable peacetime existence for the obedient population of the aggressor state — striking at the most sensitive part of the comfort zone of ordinary imperial patriots and supporters of Putin,” Brovdi said.
Have We Reached a Decisive Point in the War?
Ukraine may have found a winning strategy against Russia. Zelensky’s forces are harassing ordinary Russians. This will place more pressure on Putin to bring a close to the war and remind him that civilians do not want to be victims any longer.
The People’s Morale Is Everything
Civilian morale is important in warfare. There doesn’t seem to be a steadfast belief from the Russian people to hang in there for a long period like Britain endured in World War Two.
Fuel shortages and long gas lines have crippled the country for weeks. Now many Russians will have to wait indefinitely for goods to be delivered by Wildberries.
Death From Above
The drone attacks thus have two purposes - to kill and maim and to make Russians believe that the war has entered a new “cognitive” phase or systemic weakening in which fear is a factor.
What will get hit next? Could Ukraine strike heritage sites like statues and museums to make Russia pay even more? Plus, apartment buildings, condos, and homes are liable to be targeted as well.
More Than What They Bargained For
This is not what the Russian people agreed to regarding the war.
Television reports have claimed that Putin’s generals have the war under control and that Russian soldiers are gaining ground and pursuing the enemy. Now it seems that nowhere is safe.
“We see here this is as a self-sustaining spiral of vengeance, you hit our shadow tankers, we will hit your dry cargo ships in Odesa, you hit our oil refineries, we hit your gas stations,” Ruslan Leviev, a military expert with the Conflict Intelligence Team, told the Washington Post.
The Destruction Will Continue
Look for more civilian attacks that can happen any time in the coming weeks. The war has escalated to the point that it is shifting to a “blitz,” and Ukraine has tilted the battle space in its favor.
Russia also has a shortage of air defenders that can protect all of Moscow, St. Petersburg, and its suburbs. Data centers that power Russia’s internet service are likely to be next.
Plus, Ukraine could hit logistics facilities that handle food distribution along with water processing plants.
Kyiv should be given credit for devising tactics that hurt Russia to its core. The attacks will only broaden to hit more civilian targets each night.
Putin’s generals are likely to repeat their own drone and missile strikes that bring the fight to the Ukrainian public in a tit-for-tat manner that is about payback and revenge not seen in Europe since the 1940s.
About the Author: Brent M. Eastwood, PhD
Author of now over 3,500 articles on defense issues, Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don't Turn Your Back On the World: A Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for US Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former US Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
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