The Institute for the Study of War is reporting that the Kremlin is taking steps to make its Ukraine invasion “a major conventional war” as it looks to change the perception of the conflict. A successful Ukrainian counteroffensive in recent months has embarrassed officials at the Kremlin in what they have called “a special military operation.”
The Report
“The Kremlin is likely preparing to conduct a decisive strategic action in the next six months intended to regain the initiative and end Ukraine’s current string of operational successes,” the Institute for the Study of War said in a report late Sunday.
The report also detailed that Russian forces are in “serious preparations” for an expanded mobilization effort and building up personnel for a future campaign. The Russian military is also restructuring its command structure and expanding industrial production to support the army.
The think tank says this means Ukraine’s Western allies “will need to continue supporting Ukraine in the long run.”
The Recent Russian Attack
Amid Russia’s expanded missile attacks came a particularly devastating strike on apartment building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro. About 1,700 people lived in the building and the death toll from the attack has no reached 40. 75 other people were injured in the strike which occurred on Saturday, making it one of the most significant and deadly event of the entire war.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, called the strike an “inhumane aggression” because it directly targeted civilians.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian military doesn’t target residential buildings and suggested the Dnipro building was hit as a result of Ukrainian air defense actions.
