"This is their No. 1 goal": an expert names the targets Putin plans to keep attacking

The primary objective and main goal that Putin's army has set for itself right now is to plunge Ukraine back into a blackout.

Military expert, former spokesman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Vladyslav Seleznyov told about this in a comment for TSN.ua, analyzing the aftermath of the missile-drone attack on Ukraine that took place on August 26. As is known, it was one of the most massive and lasted for several hours.

"Soviet standards state this: the time interval between reloading and an aircraft taking off on a new combat mission after returning from the previous one is 16-17 hours. Of course, the Russians don't even come close to having such resources. They spent a considerable amount of time, over a month, accumulating almost a hundred missiles," Seleznyov said.

The expert added: "Notice that this time the entire range was used, the entire nomenclature - "Kinzhals," "Kalibrs", "Kh-101", most likely "Kh-55", "Iskander-M", "Iskander-K", "Oniks." They gathered everything together and launched it, which allowed for a massive missile and drone attack in order to push our air defense system."

According to Seleznyov, many factors influence the intervals between attacks.

"For example, will Putin's North Korean friends supply a large number of KN-23 missiles? If the case of ballistic weapon supplies from the Tehran government is realized, the possibilities may increase as well. If our Western friends finally come to understand that something needs to be done to stop the possibility of parallel or gray imports of components for creating ballistic missiles by the Russian defense industry, then accordingly, Russia will lose these opportunities," the expert said.

Retaliation for Kursk?

Several propaganda Telegram channels report that this strike was in retaliation for events currently unfolding in Kursk region involving Ukrainian military forces. In other words, they are presenting this attack as revenge.

However, military expert Vladyslav Seleznyov holds a completely different view.

"They targeted only energy facilities. Odesa, Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil. They tried to hit the energy sector to plunge us back into a blackout. This is the only thing that interests them primarily. What military targets could there be in a five-story building in Lutsk? It's nonsense," he said.

Seleznyov continued: "The Russians have many ways of obtaining verified intelligence about the state of our energy infrastructure. But the missile attack happened after "Ukrenergo" announced that they were ready to sell electricity. I wouldn't rule out this version of the attack. In any case, they (Putin's army) are working in such a way as to cause us the most harm. They can't find our military targets very well because we've scattered them. So, they hit where they can. As for the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant Dam, that's a very tempting target for them. Are these cruise or ballistic missiles capable of destroying the dam? No, they are not. Not even missiles with a nuclear warhead could do that. But they can damage the equipment - that's possible."

Read also:

• Morning strike on Ukraine: Kuleba explains how to stop Russia

• Missile strike on Odesa region: there are victims, including a 10-year-old boy

• Massive attack on Kyiv region: where strikes occurred and their aftermath

• Belarus amasses troops near Ukrainian border: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responds