Kyiv suffered one of the largest-scale attacks in recent times. In the Darnytskyi district, occupiers destroyed part of a five-story residential building. There was also significant destruction in the city center — in Shevchenkivskyi district. Among the damaged facilities were the EU delegation in Ukraine, the offices of Ukrainska Pravda and Radio Liberty, the British consulate, the Intercity train depot, and others. In total, about 100 facilities were damaged.The Russian strike on Ukraine’s capital on August 28 killed 23 people and injured 53 more.At present, Russia’s attacks are primarily targeting civilian infrastructure. The enemy seeks to exert military and political pressure on Ukraine, attempting to force its leadership into so-called “peace talks.”It is worth recalling that in his speech on September 30, 2022, the Kremlin dictator stressed that during World War II the anti-Hitler coalition used carpet bombing of German cities such as Cologne and Dresden. Already in 2022, he signaled to Western countries the possibility of Russian strikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian cities. Ukrainian authorities and international organizations classify these attacks as war crimes of the Russian Federation, emphasizing their deliberate nature.Russia is increasingly using ballistic missiles against Ukrainian cities. Such missiles are very difficult to intercept. Only Patriot and SAMP/T air defense systems can down aeroballistic weapons, and Ukraine has very few of them. Russia is aware of this and is deliberately striking residential infrastructure.These missiles can reach Kyiv in as little as two minutes if launched from Russia’s Bryansk region.On the night of August 28, the enemy used Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles from Russian airspace over Lipetsk and Voronezh regions. The proximity of these launch sites greatly reduces the reaction time available to Ukrainian air defenses. The same tactic is used with Iskander missiles and their North Korean analogues, KN-23, launched from Bryansk and Voronezh regions, complicating their timely detection and interception.It is noteworthy that these strikes on residential neighborhoods came shortly after Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that negotiations between Russia and the United States on security guarantees should take place behind closed doors.According to Peskov, security guarantees are “the most important issue” in resolving the war in Ukraine, but public discussion of the topic is allegedly harmful to results.In practice, Russia is trying to create artificial tensions between Ukraine, the U.S., and European partners by insisting on closed-door talks. Having failed to create buffer zones in Sumy, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, Moscow resorts to such attacks to compensate for lost positions at the negotiating table.Furthermore, strikes on civilian infrastructure are also aimed at exploiting the sensitivity of Western leaders, including Donald Trump, to civilian casualties, potentially influencing diplomatic pressure on Ukraine.It should be recalled that after meeting with Putin in Alaska on August 15, Donald Trump stated that he had reached a fundamental agreement with the Russian leader for a “land swap” between Ukraine and Russia, and said he saw a chance Ukraine might agree to such a deal.Specially for EspresoAbout the author: Dmytro Sniehyriov, military expert, co-chair of NGO Prava Sprava.The editorial team does not necessarily share the views expressed by the authors of blogs.