Russia’s missile strikes on Ukraine indicate transition to “Aleppo” strategy – expert on international energy, security relations

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"As for Ukraine's energy infrastructure, Russia is not doing anything new compared to what it did in 2022 and 2023. But there is a change in quality. Now we often mention Kharkiv, there are also attacks on Sumy, we also see Chernihiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kryvyi Rih, Odesa — this indicates that Russia is shifts to what I call the ‘Aleppo’ strategy," said the expert.

Mykhailo Honchar pointed out the devastation inflicted on Aleppo, a Syrian city, during the 2016 bombings by Russian aviation. The attacks spared neither military nor civilian infrastructure, resulting in widespread destruction throughout the city.

"Now Russia, not being able to achieve any success on the front line or gaining only tactical success, is using this scenario. And this scenario consists not only in destroying critical infrastructure, but also in striking at civilian infrastructure," commented the expert.

In his opinion, this is an Aleppo-style terror, which has a dual goal: on the one hand, to break the Ukrainian society morally, and on the other hand, due to the impossibility of realizing some propaganda goals, such as capturing Kharkiv or reaching the borders of the so-called “DPR,” Russia has set a goal to inflict maximum damage to Ukraine in various directions.

"Now it's a matter of time and building up our capabilities in order to force the enemy to alter their behavioral patterns, ensuring that it becomes more detrimental to them than to us. Only then might there be a hypothetical shift in their behavior. Presently, the strikes we've conducted on Russian soil inflict pain on the aggressor, yet they haven't prompted a fundamental shift in their overall strategy. They persist in their strikes on Ukrainian cities, following an escalating pattern to erode Ukrainian morale," Honchar summarized.

• On the night of April 24, Russian occupying forces launched a missile attack on Kharkiv. They hit a residential complex in the Shevchenkivskyi district, resulting in injuries. Russian troops also attacked Zolocheve, Bohodukhiv district.
• In the morning, Russian forces fired missiles at Odesa, injuring a woman and damaging houses.
• On April 25, the Russian army attacked the Cherkasy region with a missile. As a result, a critical infrastructure facility was damaged, and 6 people were injured. 
• Russian troops also attacked the infrastructure of Sumy with guided aerial bombs.