Russia's winter campaign of missile strikes is predominantly targeting Ukraine's military-industrial complex, Vadym Skibitskyi, a representative of Ukraine's Military Intelligence (HUR), said in an interview with RBC Ukraine on Jan. 15.
Firefighters put out a fire after a Russian strike hit Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 29, 2023. (Oleksii Chumachenko/Anadolu via Getty Images)
This marks a change from last winter when Ukraine’s energy facilities were massively targeted, Skibitskyi said.
The U.K. Defense Ministry also highlighted this shift in strategy in its Jan. 3 intelligence report, noting that this may indicate that Russia anticipates a protracted war in which relative defense industrial capacity is of high importance.
The assessment comes as Ukraine reports a rise in the domestic production of weapons amid rising uncertainty surrounding military aid from abroad. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in December that domestic production of equipment and weapons tripled in 2023 compared to 2022.
Even when Russia aims at military targets, civilians are killed and injured as the weapons Russia uses are “very imprecise,” particularly the hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, Skibitskyi said.
The power system also remains under threat, and Russia has “identified the most critical facilities that can be hit precisely with missiles,” as well as drones, Skibitskyi said.
On Jan. 8, twelve oblasts across Ukraine were left without power due to a combination of Russian attacks and bad weather.
The details of the peace deal presented today by US special envoy Steve Witkoff are consistent with the report in the Financial Times discussed in my previous article and with Larry Sparano in the posted interview. Putin will halt the Russian advance prior to driving Ukrainian soldiers out of all of the territory that has been reincorporated into Russia. It appears to be the case that the borders between Russia and Ukraine will be the current front line, so Putin is withdrawing Russia’s claim to the Russian territories still under Ukrainian occupation.
Russia and the US seem near a Ukraine peace deal. Kyiv’s role may be moot.
President Donald Trump’s hopes of securing a quick Ukraine peace deal hang in the balance after Washington’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, held his fourth Kremlin meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday.
