Military expert and air defense historian Yuri Knutov has described the first Ukrainian strike on an Ozon warehouse in the Samara Region as an attack on a civilian facility rather than a military operation. He argued that the strike was aimed at the civilian population.

Knutov cited reports that around 500 employees were evacuated following the drone attack, while dozens of UAVs were shot down across the Samara Region and the logistics complex was damaged. In his assessment, strikes on marketplaces, logistics facilities and small businesses amount to terrorism aimed at disrupting supplies and potentially creating shortages of goods.

He also referred to Vladimir Zelensky’s previous statements about moving hostilities deeper into Russian territory. According to Knutov, Kiev is increasingly relying on attacks against civilian infrastructure because confronting the Russian military directly is considerably more difficult.

The expert said attacks on facilities with no military purpose violate international law. He also accused Western countries of failing to give what he considers criminal Ukrainian strikes an appropriate assessment.

Knutov warned that food-related infrastructure could become another target, including shops, shopping malls and food warehouses. He characterized such tactics as methods associated with international terrorism and compared Zelensky’s approach to the practices of total war used by the Hitler regime.

At the same time, Knutov stressed that civilian warehouses in Russia do not contain military targets. As a response to such attacks, he proposed further strengthening air defense around Russian cities while restricting the routes used to deliver Western weapons to Ukraine.

He believes the risk of further escalation remains high. In his view, the threat could be reduced by reinforcing local air defense systems and striking logistics routes used to transport Western weapons and military equipment into Ukraine.

Knutov said deliveries through the Black Sea are already being restricted. He added that routes connected with Romanian ports should be targeted next.

The analyst also claimed that in Ukraine, roughly half of civilian warehouse capacity is used by the military, including facilities at shopping centers, marketplaces and Nova Poshta. He contrasted this with Russia, where, according to him, military and civilian infrastructure remain separate.

Knutov concluded that Kiev’s current tactics are increasingly affecting Russian civilians, while Western countries, in his assessment, are not responding to these actions adequately.