Russia has built up a large stockpile of missiles and plans to use them to destroy Ukraine’s power and heating infrastructure in an attempt to leave the country in the dark and cold during the upcoming winter, NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has warned, as per Financial Times.
“We must not underestimate Russia. Russia’s economy is on a war footing,” he said following a meeting of allied foreign ministers and their Ukrainian counterpart.
Stoltenberg’s remarks come after Russia launched its biggest drone attack of the war on November 25, targeting Kyiv’s energy infrastructure.
On 28 November, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that despite the country’s air defenses reaching a success rate of more than 90 percent in intercepting Russian missiles and drones, Kyiv still needed more help from the West to get through the tough winter ahead.
Last week, Oleksandr Lytvynenko, Ukraine’s chief of foreign intelligence, wrote in a public report on the war that Russia’s goals in Ukraine – to gain as much territory as possible, remain unchanged. Going into winter, the conflict had now fully attained the “stage of a war of attrition”, Lytvynenko said.
Read more:
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- Russian air attack kills two, injures eight as Ukraine downs 9/10 Russian drones, 1/5 missiles (updated)
- Frontline report: Ukrainian mines and artillery target Russian armor trapped in mud
