Russia has increased strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure 7 times

This was reported by Colonel Ants Kiviselg, head of the Intelligence Center of the Estonian Armed Forces.

Kiviselg stressed that Russia is increasingly attacking Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, and while the Ukrainians have managed to shoot down most of the drones and missiles, given their large numbers, it is inevitable that some of them will achieve their goals.

He noted that June this year was the month with the highest number of civilian casualties in three years of war.

Given the starkly different positions of both sides, it is hard to imagine anything changing anytime soon. As in previous cases, the only tangible result this time was yet another prisoner exchange.

Ants Kiviselg

Colonel of the Estonian Armed Forces

At the same time, he noted that when assessing the health of the released Ukrainian prisoners of war, it should be recognized that Russia is thus openly demonstrating its disrespect for the Geneva Convention and the norms of international law in general.

According to him, Russia's disregard for basic human rights norms is also demonstrated by its treatment of its own soldiers.

There are more and more facts and examples of how commanders of Russian units torture and even kill their own soldiers, either for the purpose of so-called disciplinary action or simply blackmail.

Given the above, according to Kiviselga, it is not surprising that despite the Russians' multiple superiority in technology and human resources, they have not achieved any noticeable successes at the operational-tactical level in recent months, or even in the last week.

He said that the Russians' main focus continues to be on Donetsk, where the most shelling is taking place and where they have been trying for several months to isolate the Pokrovsky district at all costs.

Being largely in a significant minority, Ukrainians here mainly use tactics of attrition, which is expressed in the use of prepared defensive positions.

At the same time, according to him, the Russians are trying to attack these positions day after day with minimal success and at the cost of heavy losses in both manpower and equipment.

Kiviselg noted that the Russians' disregard for human life is also reflected in the increasing number of attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and residential areas, causing a sharp increase in civilian casualties.

It should be noted that the increase in attacks, based on the announced figures, has increased 7 times.

According to Kiviselga, as a result of these shellings, the number of civilian casualties increased by 53 percent compared to the same period in 2023, reaching almost 6,800, including almost 1,100 dead and 5,700 injured.

He noted that in June of this year alone, more than 1,500 people were killed and injured in Ukraine, making this month the highest number of civilian casualties in three years of war.

In the current situation, it should be recognized that the best defense against drones is an attack. Therefore, in the near future we may hear that Ukraine has taken measures to destroy drone factories in Russia, such as "Alabuga".