Electric substation in Ukraine affected by Russian strike Omar Marquez / Anatolian Agency / Getty Images
Russia is concentrating most of its military efforts in Ukraine in an attempt to seize territory in the east and south of the country, but continues to strike at cities in Ukraine. And on Tuesday and Wednesday, the strikes targeted power substations, railway facilities and other infrastructure in western and central Ukraine.
Russia’s defense ministry says attacks on railway infrastructure are aimed at disrupting Western arms supplies – with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu expressing displeasure that the United States and its allies are “filling Ukraine with weapons.” A senior Pentagon official said Wednesday that despite Russia’s efforts, “there is no impact on our ability to continue flows into Ukraine. We have seen no indication that any of this Western aid has been blocked or even inflicted.”
“There is no indication that there is a Russian obstacle to the flow of US arms to Ukraine,” a Pentagon official said. “Our focus is on bringing it to them. Their focus is on getting it into battle and using it. And that’s what’s happening.” Ukraine has 81 of the 90 promised American howitzers, and “we know they use some of these howitzers in battle,” the official said, “but I think I’ll just object to that number.”
The flow of weapons to Ukraine “continues every day” and they “fall into Ukrainian hands,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said later Wednesday. “We will not talk about the ways in which materials enter Ukraine,” but “there are many ways to do this” and “these ways change over time.”
Both Ukraine and Russia rely on rail systems to transport military personnel and supplies, a Pentagon official said, but Russian strikes on critical infrastructure in the west have not had a “noticeable impact” on Ukraine’s ability to replenish its forces. In general, “Russia’s ability to steer precisely was less than advertised throughout this war,” Kirby added. “They’re not good at precision shots.”
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Russia’s strikes on “non-military targets” also show its “readiness to target civilian infrastructure in a bid to weaken Ukraine’s resolve” and damage its economy, the British Ministry of Defense said. These missile strikes on our cities “will get the right answers,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised on Wednesday night. “Both legally and quite practically – on the battlefield.”
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