United States President Donald Trump described Russia’s double missile attack with ballistic missiles in the Ukrainian city of Sumi, which resulted in the deaths of 35 civilians and injury 117, as a “mistake” on the Moscow side.

Indeed, in his latest statements, the US president said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “is not an angel” in terms of his role in the Russian war against Ukraine, but stressed that the invasion would not have happened if he was still at the wheelchair.

He then accused both US President Joe Biden and Volodimir Zelenski of not stopping the war, while accusing the Ukrainian president of “he started a war with a country 20 times greater than his own”.

However, the analyzes of experts and observers of the war reject Trump’s designation of “error”, arguing that it is a conscious strategy, part of Russian military tactics.

Sunday’s attack on Sumi follows a similar blow on April 4 in the city of Krivi Rich, where a Russian ballistic rocket with ammunition killed 20 and injured 80 citizens. Both attacks are part of a broader Moscow terror campaign, with the aim of bending Ukrainian morale and creating social pressure conditions for the Zelenski government for negotiations with Russia.

“Russia is waging a total war against Ukraine,” said Macca Bieliesskov, a military analyst and researcher at the National Institute of Strategic Studies in Ukraine.

“The purpose of this tactic is to force civilians to put pressure on the Ukrainian government to negotiate under Russia’s terms. So far, the Russians have failed, but believe that there is a turning point, after which citizens will begin to turn their anger not to the Russian Federation, but to our own government, “he added.

This tactic, reminiscent of the strategies of air bombings from the 20th century, rarely attributes: instead of turning against their government, citizens of the affected areas usually reinforce their support for it, experts point out.

Responsibilities in the army

However, Russian attacks underline tensions in Ukrainian society as war is in its fourth year.

Following the attack, opposition MP Mariana Bezuhla accused the Ukrainian army of exposing citizens at risk, organizing awards ceremony to soldiers in the city, although there was information about an upcoming Russian attack. The soldiers were saved as they were in refuge.

At the same time, Konotop Mayor Artem Semenichin accused the local Sumi Governor of planning a public ceremony for a military unit in the region, providing, as he said, “an excuse in Russia for a genocidal attack on us”.

Russia used the presence of Ukrainian troops in the city of Sumi as a pretext for the double missile attack that caused an international conviction. The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed that it launched two ballistic missiles in the city, claiming that the target was a “gathering of Ukrainian military leadership” and referring to 60 dead soldiers.

The Ukrainian General Staff did not confirm or formally denied whether there were Ukrainian soldiers in the city of Sumi during the Russian missile attack. However, in a statement he stressed that Russia is deliberately targeting a civilian population and pledged that there would be retaliation against the Russian army.

Whether they were present troops in Sumi or not, Russia is using a similar language to justify its other attacks on Ukraine cities, Bieliesskov said.

Accusement of the army means that you fall into the Russian trap, which is trying to separate the army from the citizens, said Tatiana Toschinska, a distinguished Ukrainian journalist. He said that the massacre is intended to show the population that “if it were not the army, we will not attack you!”

“It’s your fault,” the enemies tell us. And if we begin to blame our army, that will mean we have lost, “Toschinska added.

Tactics of Integral War

Reasonably, Ukraine is facing Moscow’s statements, recalling that in many cases cities are being attacked without any military reason. This happened in Krivi Rich, where Russia claimed to hit NATO officers in a restaurant, a claim that proved to be false by France24, which presented shots where only workers were at the time of the attack.

So far, totalitarian war tactics have not produced the result that the Kremlin is hoping for, Bielieskov said. However, Ukrainian civilians feel that proximity to soldiers can be dangerous.

Due to the frequent Russian attacks, the Ukrainian army no longer houses its troops in barracks. Instead, soldiers have to live in regular apartments, but find it difficult to rent them, as many locals are afraid that they will become a Russian rocket or drone target if they open their doors to the army.

“At the forefront, it is almost impossible to find a home. As soon as we got to the gathering point, we often had to squeeze either into damaged houses or cars, “a Ukrainian soldier told Politico.

“The main reason I heard from those who didn’t let us rent a house was:” A rocket will come here because of you! We don’t need that, “he added with bitterness.