Russia’s military strikes on Ukraine were aimed at preparing the ground for the involvement of ground forces in order to encircle the Ukrainian army concentrated in the east of the country, experts told AFP.
“This is an attack targeting the entire Ukrainian territory,” a European diplomatic source said.
After gathering 150,000-200,000 troops around Ukraine in recent weeks, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the launch of a military operation, mostly with air strikes. Moscow, which has an overwhelming firepower compared to Ukraine, says it has already destroyed 74 military installations, including 11 airports, as well as the country’s air defense systems.
The airstrikes took place in Kiev, the city of Kramatorsk, home to the Ukrainian army’s general staff, Kharkiv, the second most populous city near the border with Russia, Odessa on the Black Sea and Mariupol, the nearest town on the border. the separatist areas of Donbass.
“The Russians have begun a phase of preparation for the battlefield, the so-called configuration: the neutralization of all anti-aircraft defense systems, air bases, the suppression of electronic warfare,” said a senior French official. Belarus, Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. “The Russians are beginning to conquer all of Ukraine,” he said.
“We are currently witnessing a rapid military campaign aimed at encircling and destroying Ukrainian forces, through multiple simultaneous attacks launched overnight,” said Franz-Stephan Gaddy, a military expert. topics at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). “Russia will seek to end the conflict quickly,” he added.
“Ukrainian forces were deployed along the border with the supposed republics (including Donetsk and Luhansk) in the trenches,” said François Esbour, a specialist adviser at the Strategic Research Foundation (FRS) in Paris. “But the Russian armor seems to want to encircle Donbass from the west, coming from the north.”
At the same time, “starting from the Crimea, they will try to isolate the Ukrainian army opposite Donbass, in order to neutralize it and force it to surrender,” he added.
The “conventional” attack was preceded by a wide-ranging misinformation campaign and a wave of cyber-attacks. The websites of several banks and Ukrainian ministries, including that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have been targeted by hackers since Wednesday and are inaccessible. Kiev blames Russia, which, however, denies any involvement in the matter.
Moscow relied on the fact that NATO countries would not intervene to thwart its military operations. He had taken care to make a “deterrence” demonstration, proceeding a few days ago to a series of missile tests.
“About 75% of Russian ground forces are in or around Ukraine. If (the Russians) were afraid of an attack by NATO or a Western country, Moscow would not have done so,” said Franz-Stefan Gandhi.
“NATO has no troops in Ukraine and has no plans or intentions to deploy troops in that country,” said Jens Stoltenberg, the Pact’s secretary general.
SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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