Russia’s large-scale strikes on major Ukrainian cities are not part of an effort to seize them militarily, but rather a strategy to pressure Kyiv into capitulation, says Ukrainian military expert Roman Svitan, according to Fabrika Novyn.

“Putin isn’t planning to take Kharkiv or Odesa. Capturing Kharkiv would require an army of 1.5 million — that’s pure fantasy. Arming and training such a force is unrealistic. The only conceivable advance might be past Sumy toward Kyiv — but even Kyiv is untouchable. That would take 3 to 5 million troops,” the expert believes.  

He suggests that the ongoing bombardments are designed to exert psychological pressure on Ukrainian society through both targeted and mass strikes. He notes a recurring pattern of Russian assaults: a massive drone and missile barrage on Kyiv, followed by swarms of drones targeting Kharkiv, with separate attacks hitting Dnipro, Sumy, and Odesa.

“The occupiers concentrate on one city at a time, applying pressure in a rotating cycle,” Svitan says, 

Their objective is to force Ukraine to surrender. They have no real options left — they can’t win on the battlefield, he continues.

Svitan adds that Russian military leadership likely understands the logistical challenges of sustaining their southern forces, and is instead shifting focus to political intimidation, using terror tactics against civilians to try to break Ukrainian resistance.

To counter such attacks, Svitan says Ukraine urgently needs to defend its major cities with at least 20 Patriot air defense systems.

Earlier, Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine, targeting multiple regions, killing and injuring Ukrainian civilians.

According to Odesa Oblast Head Oleh Kiper, Russian forces attacked the city with strike drones, killing two civilians. Fifteen others were wounded, as confirmed by Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. Among the dead was a railway worker, reportedly killed at home during the strike.