"There are systemic internal problems": military expert names Russia's pain point that can be taken advantage of

Russia's terrorist state has certain internal problems in relations between the regions and the center. On the eve of winter, the Kremlin is most concerned about attacks in the Central Federal District, while the Russian authorities in the remote regions are not concerned about the state of critical infrastructure.

That is why the Russian authorities are trying to protect their critical facilities from possible attacks. This was stated by Oleksiy Melnyk, co-director of foreign policy programs, coordinator of international projects at the Razumkov Center and military expert in an exclusive interview with OBOZ.UA.

According to him, the occupiers began to strengthen the air defense system in the Central Federal District. Analysts believe that this is due to the Kremlin's attempt to protect its critical facilities from possible attacks.

Melnyk emphasized that Ukraine can answer back, attacking critical infrastructure in Russia, but on a much smaller scale due to a lack of resources. He is confident that the strikes should include facilities related to the military industry or military units.

The military expert also explained that depriving any settlements in the Russian hinterland of electricity will not have any strategic effect as the Kremlin does not care about the living conditions of its citizens. However, striking an elite area of the Moscow region, Rublevka in particular, could cause hysteria among Russians.

"There are systemic Russian internal problems, particularly in relations between the regions and the center. And this is one of the pain points that one could take advantage of to make these waves diverge. In fact, this is the destabilization of the Russian domestic electorate. As for our capabilities, there have been a number of announcements by officials that we have such means of domestic production. I think we should hope that the announcements will be followed by news of their practical application," Melnyk said.

In addition, the expert emphasized that the aggressor country, the Russian Federation, is accustomed to responding with "acts of retaliation." Moreover, such acts are intended not so much to influence the further steps of the Ukrainian military and political leadership but to demonstrate that "everything is going according to plan" to its own audience. Therefore, Melnyk is confident that it is impossible to reduce the intensity of Russian attacks in this way.

As a reminder, Washington is discussing ways to protect critical infrastructure in Ukrainian cities from Russian missile attacks with Ukrainian officials. They emphasized that the aggressor country could resume massive strikes in the winter.

Earlier, Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that Russia would launch massive missile strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure when the air temperature is below zero for a long time. At the same time, the occupiers did not stop striking at the energy sector even in the summer.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the partners had provided the Ukrainian army with additional air defense systems to protect the infrastructure from possible Russian attacks on the eve of winter. The army already has NASAMS, Patriot, IRIS-T, Hawk, and Raven air defense systems in service.

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