Moscow wouldn’t push for ban on deep strikes if they weren’t working — General Clark

He shared his opinions on Espreso TV.

“It’s clear that strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure are causing significant damage. If that weren’t the case, Moscow wouldn’t be pushing for a moratorium on such attacks. These strikes limit Russia’s ability to generate revenue, so they have strategic importance - even if their impact on the battlefield isn’t immediate. Ukraine’s command must consider these factors and set the right priorities. Clearly, deep strikes into Russian territory have forced it to demand: ‘Don’t target our energy infrastructure,’” Clark explained.

The general noted that strikes deep into Russian territory create diplomatic pressure on the Kremlin and yield certain results. However, the main question remains what exactly Russia is willing to offer in exchange for such a deal.

“The question is what exactly Russia is willing to offer in exchange for such a deal. So far, none of these agreements have taken effect, as each time discussions begin within commercial or diplomatic frameworks, Russia makes new demands, trying to extract additional concessions. Still, it seems that long-range strikes create diplomatic pressure and yield certain results,” he added.

According to Clark, this is now a war of attrition. Therefore, it’s likely that Ukraine’s command could consider targeting operational objectives located directly near the front line - those that influence the course of combat operations.

“The key issue is finding an effective balance: would it not be more appropriate to focus on operationally important targets? For example, strikes on ammunition depots have proven effective - they are reachable and yield concrete results. However, everything related to positional warfare essentially comes down to a war of attrition. In maneuver warfare, the goal is to concentrate strikes in specific directions, opening the way for mobile forces to achieve decisive outcomes through speed and flexibility. Under current conditions, Ukraine is mostly engaged in positional defense. In such a situation, the main objectives on the battlefield are to prevent the Russians from concentrating forces and to disrupt attempts to change the nature of combat. This is achieved by undermining the enemy’s ability to sustain the war through strikes on fuel and ammunition supplies, troop concentrations, and other critical logistical facilities,” the general concluded.

• On March 29, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance assured that the energy truce between Russia and Ukraine had taken effect.
• On April 16, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heorhii Tykhyi, stated that during the agreed energy ceasefire with Ukraine, Russia has violated it more than 30 times.