Military intelligence: Russian strikes targeting military-industrial infrastructure
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.
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.
