Russia May Target Ukraine's Transportation Networks to Disrupt Weapon Supplies

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggests in its April 23 report that Russian forces may shift their focus in the coming weeks towards targeting Ukraine’s transportation infrastructure. This shift coincides with the passage of a long-awaited aid package worth $61 billion in the US Congress, promising a significant boost to Ukraine’s defense capacities.

While Ukraine anticipates the arrival of new weapons, the ISW warns that Russian forces will persist in their assault, aiming to inflict maximum damage on Ukrainian infrastructure and defense industrial bases. This includes a potential shift in tactics, with Russia redirecting its attention from energy infrastructure to transportation networks to disrupt the flow of weapon supplies to the front lines.

The recent attacks by Russia on April 19 in Dnipropetrovsk region, particularly targeting the Dnipro railway station, underscore the renewed threat posed to Ukrainian transportation infrastructure.

The ISW suggests that expanded strikes on transportation systems could form part of a broader strategy to hinder Ukrainian forces' logistics and ground communication lines. “The Russian military command may hope that a coordinated interdiction effort will constrain Ukraine’s ability to sufficiently distribute manpower and materiel to critical sectors of the front and delay the improved capabilities that the arrival of US security assistance will afford Ukrainian forces,” analysts said.