Palm Sunday attack: Russian terrorist strikes aim to break Ukrainian civilians, expert says

In his latest analysis, Mashovets emphasized that Russia’s dual approach — maintaining military pressure on the front while escalating internal destabilization efforts — has been in motion for several months. "The fact that the Kremlin will be forced to intensify its 'internal influence' on Ukraine along with continued pressure on the front became clear a couple of months ago, when the pace of its fall and winter offensive began to drop," he explained.

According to Mashovets, Russia’s current goal is to “blow up the rear” — to shake the internal socio-political stability of Ukraine and erode the public's will to continue resisting. “These are the main goals of this combination,” he said. “To intimidate, to shape in the minds of as many of our citizens as possible a feeling of fatality and fear.”

Sunday’s missile attack on a crowded central area in Sumy, which fell on Palm Sunday, underscores this strategy. Mashovets noted that the Kremlin is willing to use any weapon at its disposal, even unconventional or “artificial” tools such as repurposed anti-aircraft missiles, to maximize psychological and human impact.

“The enemy will pay any price,” he said. “The use of missiles originally meant for anti-aircraft systems demonstrates this clearly. The Kremlin is ready to employ whatever it has to terrorize civilians.”

Mashovets underlined that the choice of civilian targets is neither random nor accidental. “This is a conscious and quite acceptable methodology for the Kremlin,” he stated. “In their view, the cost-result ratio of such strikes is justified. The goal is resonance — high civilian casualties that deliver immediate psychological impact.”

The analyst also stressed that Russia is deliberately exploiting gaps in Ukraine’s air defense coverage. “Ukraine cannot cover literally everything and everyone in its rear with highly effective air defense means. The enemy knows this, that's why they choose peaceful neighborhoods and objects for this kind of “influence” — a higher probability of inflicting the maximum possible (resonance) damage, and therefore — to realize almost instantaneous and real influence on people's consciousness.”

What makes these attacks especially chilling, Mashovets added, is the complete absence of moral restraint. “There is clearly no ‘moral’ dilemma associated with the obvious high probability of significant casualties among peaceful civilians, and neither for the Kremlin itself, nor for the direct executors of this ‘methodology’ ... Sunday, the central part of the city , Palm Sunday strike.”

He concluded that such strikes are part of Russia’s broader campaign to force Ukraine to capitulate — not militarily, but psychologically. “The main objective is to foster in public opinion a sharp rejection of any continuation of the war. Fear, helplessness, and fatalism — these are the enemy’s real targets,” Mashovets warned.

As Russia’s battlefield advances stall, the psychological war against Ukraine’s civilian population is expected to intensify, experts like Mashovets caution, demanding renewed international support for air defense systems and societal resilience.

• On the morning of Sunday, April 13, Russian troops launched a missile strike on the city of Sumy, killing and injuring dozens of civilians, including children.
• Following a deadly Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy during Palm Sunday, world leaders strongly condemned the attack.