Ukraine could face a significantly more difficult winter as mounting economic pressure and humanitarian risks threaten to deepen the country’s crisis, CNN reports, citing assessments from several analysts.

John Lough, head of international cooperation at the London-based New Eurasian Strategies Centre, argued that Russia’s ongoing aerial campaign is now clearly aimed at undermining the Ukrainian economy.

According to Lough, many of Kiev’s European allies have yet to fully grasp the scale of the challenges facing Ukraine. He also warned that European partners may be underestimating the financial burden they could eventually be forced to shoulder.

The analyst emphasized that the cumulative impact of the conflict, combined with severe exhaustion on the Ukrainian side, has created an especially dangerous situation for an economy already under considerable strain.

Christian Vlas, an Eastern Europe expert at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), offered an even more alarming assessment.

He warned that Ukraine could experience a devastating humanitarian crisis this winter, with conditions potentially deteriorating much earlier than they did the previous year.

Vlas also claimed that Moscow is seeking to trigger multiple economic shocks by targeting critical sectors of Ukraine’s economy. He specifically identified agriculture and grain exports as areas facing pressure from Russian strikes.

The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, has repeatedly maintained that its forces strike only military targets and infrastructure associated with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.