How Ukraine is bringing the war home to Russia

In recent weeks, Ukrainian drones have targeted large warehouses across Russia, destroying millions of dollars of merchandise stored inside them.

These warehouses and logistics hubs belong to Wildberries, the Russian equivalent to Amazon.  Ukraine is taking aim at Ozon, Russia’s second-largest online retailer, too.

Ukraine says it’s targeting these companies because they’ve been providing supplies to soldiers on the front line.

But according to Matthew Sussex, associate professor in strategic studies at Deakin University in Australia, who talked to The Conversation Weekly podcast, Kyiv’s strategy also intends to disrupt the lives of everyday Russians.

When you put in an online order that can’t go through because the merchandise has been blown up by Ukrainian drones, that starts to put indirect political pressure on people like Vladimir Putin because it hits the everyday Russian consumer.

But as the war drags on well into its fourth year, is there anything that could put pressure on Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine?

[Putin] has given no sign that he wants an off ramp. But the pressures that will build on him to seek one will continue to grow.

He really has staked his legacy on this invasion of Ukraine. And that’s something that would be really hard for him personally to back away from, in terms of his political longevity and his place in Russia’s history books.

Disclosure statement

Matthew Sussex has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the Fulbright Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation, the Lowy Institute and various Australian government departments and agencies.

Newsclips in this episode from CBC News and UATV English.

This episode of The Conversation Weekly was written and produced by Isabella Podwinski and Justin Bergman. Mixing by Lloyd Barrett and theme music by Neeta Sarl.