As Ukraine’s capabilities expanded, it made it easier for them to hit targets deeper inside Russia, most of those targets being oil refineries, factories, airfields, trains and trucks carrying military personnel and materiel, ships, bridges, and other targets that degrade Russian logistics and their economy. All of this affects Russia’s ability to fight their war against Ukraine. The Ukrainian aerial campaign has been intensifying even as Russia’s ability to defend against it seems to be waning.
I have to admit that one thing that caught me off guard was Ukraine’s latest targets of interest, that being the Russian equivalent of Amazon, known as Wildberries. But once it was explained, it made perfect sense.
While the Russians have been claiming Ukraine’s attacks against Wildberries is a war crime because it is a ‘civilian’ infrastructure that adversely affects Russian civilians, it must be understood that Russia has been hitting civilian infrastructure and targets from Day 1 of its ‘Special Military Operation’. These include supermarkets, hospitals, apartment buildings, malls, power stations, and so on. The list is lengthy. So how is it Russia can say that what they’ve done is not a war crime against Ukrainians while what Ukraine has done is even if a small fraction of what Russian has done is a war crime against Russians? At least Ukraine has not been targeting civilian targets like those the Russians have been hitting.
As to taking out Wildberries, I have to admit that I probably wouldn’t have thought of doing so. That Wildberreis appears to be shipping dual use goods, much of it going to the front lines, certainly makes me think it’s a legitimate target. That it also weakens the Russian economy in the process makes it a twofer.