Russia seeks to force Ukraine to make 'peace' with strikes on civilian infrastructure - military expert

He said this on Espreso TV.

"The intensity of missile strikes by the Russian Federation against energy and residential infrastructure will increase. The Russian military doctrine clearly states: "the preventive nature of strikes on energy infrastructure in order to force surrender". It is no coincidence that after the missile strikes on Ukrainian residential areas, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian Federation was ready for a 'peaceful’ dialogue, but on Russia's terms. This all gives grounds to say that the latest missile attacks on our territory were aimed at military and political pressure on Ukraine to force it to sign the so-called peace agreements," Sniehyrov said.

The military expert commented on the international community's reaction to Russia's pressure on Ukraine.

"It should be noted that in parallel with this, Turkish President Erdogan's 'peace plan' appears. It clearly states that Russia retains the occupied territories, i.e. the status quo, at the time of signing the 'peace’ agreements. This refers to the occupied territories of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions and the occupied Crimea. This all relates to rocket attacks," he added.

• On April 5, the US Institute for the Study of War reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu have increasingly started talking about peace talks with Ukraine in order to force the West to make concessions.