NATO top official assesses Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets

The North Atlantic Alliance has acknowledged the impact of Ukrainian strikes on the targets of the Russian aggressor country. According to the correspondent of LIGA.net in Brussels, a senior NATO official said about this at a briefing before a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

According to him, Kyiv is inflicting real strategic losses on Russia by striking at oil and gas infrastructure in general, as well as increasingly focusing on sites that are critical to Russia's military efforts in Ukraine.

He recalled that Ukraine recently struck a thermal power plant in Moscow region, an aviation facility in Rostov and oil infrastructure in the Novorossiysk.

"Although it is difficult to quantify the impact of Ukraine's strikes on the Russian economy, Russia's projected energy revenues were significantly lower than expected in 2025. This is also likely due to low oil prices, strong ruble, slightly lower import demand and a ban on the export of oil products. Russia has been forced to raise taxes – disproportionately affecting low-income households and civilian sectors of the economy – to mitigate the growing deficit," said the top NATO official.

He also noted that he generally does not expect "any serious breakthrough in Ukraine's defense lines" in the coming months.

The official added that increased military aid to Kyiv could improve the dynamics on the battlefield, especially as the country has recently focused on striking fuel and logistics hubs inside Russia.

At the same briefing, he said reported that Russia may be able to finance the war against Ukraine until 2027, but the longer it stays in a state of war economy, the worse the consequences for it will be after the end of hostilities.

• The Alliance's intelligence assessment of the situation in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad indicates that the situation in these cities is difficult, but that they may be lost will not mean the collapse of Ukrainian defense.
• The top NATO official also said that the capture of the part of Donetsk region controlled by Ukrainian defenders is not realistic for the Russians for at least a year.
• He said that the level of losses among Russians remains high and is growing for the third month in a row.