Russian attack | Ukraine and Russia tease each other with airstrikes – Researcher: Ukraine only has something to lose if it strikes civilian targets

Ukrainian and Russian airstrikes have caused a large number of civilian casualties on both sides of the border in recent days.

Russia carried out a massive series of airstrikes across Ukraine, which resulted in at least 39 people being killed and 120 wounded. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi reported the number of victims on Saturday.

On Saturday in Belgorod, Russia, 24 people were killed and more than a hundred were injured in Ukrainian airstrikes, local authorities said.

Both Russia and Ukraine have retaliated.

Docent of Military Sciences Ilmari Käihkön according to which it is impossible to know exactly what Ukraine was aiming for with its attacks on Belgorod.

“It is still worth asking whether it was a smart strategy on the part of Ukraine. “Ukraine has nothing to lose when it comes to coercion,” says Käihkö, visiting researcher at the Aleksanteri Institute.

for Ukraine the situation is already familiar. The country's civilian population has been afraid of Russian airstrikes all over the country for almost two years now.

Russia was known to have stockpiled huge numbers of its missiles, and they were expected to use them to strike Ukraine's civilian infrastructure when the frost arrived.

According to Käihkö, Friday's attacks are proof that Russia has learned how to exhaust Ukraine's air defenses.

According to Ukraine, Russia used all possible air force weapons except Kalibr missiles in its attack on Friday.

Ukraine managed to destroy 114 out of 158 missiles and explosive aircraft.

The attack percentage was clearly lower than in Russia's previous attacks, says Käihkö.

According to him, it can be expected that Russia will continue to carry out similar attacks in the future.

Cuckold however, does not believe that Russian terror works and will collapse the morale and will of the Ukrainians to continue the war.

According to him, a significantly greater threat to the course of the war and to Ukrainian society is that Ukraine will run out of anti-aircraft missiles.

“If the support from the West is not enough to maintain Ukraine's air defense, it will have a huge impact on the dynamics of the war and the entire society of Ukraine,” says Käihkö.

British newspaper The Guardian and American newspaper The New York Times (NYT) estimate that Ukraine's attack on Belgorod is possibly one of the most destructive attacks Ukraine has made on the Russian side during the war.

Ukraine has not officially commented on the events, but officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said of the British broadcasting company BBC and according to the NYT, Ukraine carried out the attacks in revenge for Russia's bombings on Friday.

Friday's attacks across Ukraine were also considered the most destructive since the early days of the war.

According to the officials, Ukraine targeted military targets in Belgorod and civilian casualties occurred due to Russian air defenses.

Russia again claimed That Ukraine deliberately struck civilian targets and used truck ammunition.

Russia also said it carried out a revenge attack on the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Saturday and the night before Sunday. Among other things, a hotel and residential buildings were damaged in the attack. At least 28 people were injured in the attacks, local authorities said, according to Reuters.

According to the UN, 10,000 civilians have died in Ukraine due to Russia's full-scale war of aggression. According to the UN, almost 60 civilians have died in Russia, the news agency Reuters reports.

I'm crazy according to it, it is impossible to know whether Ukraine is trying to strike military targets in Belgorod.

“Now you can only see the end result. Both Russia and Ukraine want to show civilian casualties and avoid reporting damage to military targets.”

According to Käihkö, Ukraine should think carefully about whether it is worth it to go ahead with airstrikes on civilian targets.

Because of the power relations, Ukraine is also at the bottom in that regard, says Käihkö.

Russia's ground operation is currently floundering on all fronts and Ukraine is suffering from a crying shortage of ammunition.

Käihkö, on the other hand, understands that Ukraine does not have many options in this situation.

“There is a certain logic in moving the war to the Russian side as well and convincing the Russians and Russian leaders that this war is not worth it,” says Käihkö.

He also states that an attack on Russia can have a morale-boosting effect in Ukraine.

“Understandably, it's not good to just be the target of an attack. Of course, this also creates political pressure to respond in kind, i.e. take revenge,” says Käihkö.

I'm crazy it is difficult to condemn Ukraine for civilian casualties, but at the same time the country should remember that airstrikes on civilian targets can become a problem in the long term.

The biggest problem is that the attacks can increase support for the war in Russia, says Käihkö.

Another problem is how such attacks affect the external support that Ukraine relies on, Käihkö continues.

of the UN the members of the Security Council gathered on Friday for an urgent meeting at the request of Ukraine. They did the same on Saturday at Russia's request.

The countries assisting Ukraine stated at the meeting that the responsibility for civilian casualties ultimately rests with the Russian president Vladimir Putinwhich attacked Ukraine almost two years ago, the news agency AFP reports.

“If Russia wants to blame someone for the deaths of Russians in this war, they should start with President Putin,” Britain's UN ambassador Thomas Phipps stated.