Vladimir Putin mistakenly called Saturday’s partial destruction of the flagship bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea a “terrorist act.” His revenge was to unleash mass terror in cities across Ukraine, with missiles raining down from the sky at the height of the morning rush hour.
The bombing was the largest since the first weeks of the war. Since, according to international law, parties to a conflict “must always distinguish between civilians and combatants” rather than directly targeting civilians, it is difficult to view this as anything other than yet another war crime in the Kremlin’s dismal record of execution directly by order of the President.
The Kerch Bridge bombing, which Ukraine celebrated but did not take responsibility for, was undoubtedly a humiliation for Putin. This bridge was a symbol of the seizure of Crimea, built on his orders and blown up the day after his 70th birthday.
And it was a legitimate military target. The bridge was actively used to supply Crimea and Russian troops in southern Ukraine. Moreover, civilians were not deliberately targeted.
Putin insisted that Russia attacked Ukrainian “energy, military control and communications facilities.” Some infrastructure was indeed damaged, leaving several regions without electricity and water and affecting the population. But Moscow’s alleged targeted strikes also hit a city park popular with families with small children, a pedestrian bridge, museum and university buildings, and the German consulate in Kyiv—none of which were military targets.
The brutality of the strikes was certainly due to the fact that over the weekend Putin appointed General Sergei Surovikin as commander of Moscow’s invasion force in Ukraine. Surovikin has in the past led Russia’s intervention in the Syrian conflict, including the barbaric bombing of Aleppo.
Given that Russia employs dozens of short-range cruise and ballistic missiles, the fact that it destroyed so few high-value military targets suggests either that the targets were civilians or that the missiles were highly inaccurate.
In any case, since Ukraine claims to have shot down more than half of the more than 80 missiles fired, this was a militarily wasteful use of expensive weapons that are already in short supply. If all this was intended to signal the beginning of a new destructive tactic in the war, then it is obvious that Russia cannot maintain it for long – at least not using this type of weapon.
One of the responses of Western democracies should be to quickly supply Ukraine with the sophisticated defense systems that the country has long asked for. Failure to provide them makes Ukraine more vulnerable and increases the suffering of its citizens, as well as the costs of post-war reconstruction. Immediate financial assistance as Ukraine struggles with war costs amid a huge economic downturn is also a priority – even though the EU has been slow to release funds.
Russia’s attacks are causing enormous suffering, but they are likely to strengthen Ukraine’s extraordinary spirit and resolve.
However, Western democracies must also be prepared for potential attempts by Moscow to attack their infrastructure. Following explosions at the Russian Nord Stream gas pipeline in Germany and unexplained cable sabotage that shut down parts of Germany’s railway over the weekend, Russian hackers are being blamed for a cyberattack on US airport websites on Monday.
In addition to bolstering support for Ukraine, its allies need to step up surveillance of critical energy, transport and communications networks—and be prepared for the possibility that one of Putin’s next moves could be to try to take the war beyond Ukraine’s borders.