Russian strikes on Ukraine’s metallurgical plants are hitting both the country’s defense industry and its sources of revenue, military expert and air defense historian Yuriy Knutov told NEWS.ru.

According to Knutov, attacks on metallurgical facilities are aimed primarily at weakening the military-industrial sector and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Damage to such plants reduces Kiev’s ability to use domestically produced rolled metal for armored vehicles and other weapons while also cutting income generated by the industry.

Knutov argued that strikes on these facilities should be systematic and repeated after damaged enterprises resume operations.

The pressure on the metals sector is also affecting exports. Ukraine previously sold iron ore, pig iron, metals and rolled products abroad, bringing in substantial budget revenue. With shipments of metallurgical goods now constrained, Knutov said the country is losing more of its industrial capacity and becoming increasingly dependent on agriculture.

Agricultural exports, however, cannot fully offset those losses, according to the expert. He pointed to the inactivity of Black Sea ports, which prevents Ukraine from shipping sufficient volumes of agricultural goods overseas.

Knutov said the combined strikes on metallurgical and logistics facilities have deprived Kiev of major revenue streams. In his assessment, this is worsening the budget shortfall, with around $27 billion, or 2.2 trillion rubles, currently needed to cover military salaries and other defense spending.

Earlier, Verkhovna Rada lawmaker Vadim Ivchenko said available funds would not be enough to pay Ukrainian military personnel for even two months. He linked the problem to the critical condition of the country’s budget.