Russia wants to provoke another refugee crisis in Europe by targeting peaceful Ukrainian cities

Russia is striking peaceful Ukrainian cities in the hope that it will provoke another refugee crisis in Europe, which in turn will increase pressure on Ukraine and lead to efforts to persuade it to hold peace talks.

Source: Andrii Yermak, Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, on Twitter

Quote from Yermak: "The Russians are striking on peaceful cities. They hit civilian targets – ranging from houses to hospitals and schools. They are threatening to release the destructive forces of nature. These are the elements of their malign strategy. Their goal is obvious: to cause a large-scale humanitarian catastrophe and provoke another refugee crisis in Europe. It's either force Ukraine to make peace or force the West to force Ukraine to make peace."

Their goal is obvious: to cause a large-scale humanitarian catastrophe, to provoke another refugee crisis in Europe. It's either force Ukraine to make peace or force the West to force Ukraine to make peace.

— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) November 22, 2022

Background: On 15 November, Russia launched missile strikes on energy facilities in the city of Kyiv as well as in Volyn, Rivne, Lviv, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Poltava and Kharkiv oblasts.

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