Beyond the human tragedy of attacks on hospitals, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s report that a Russian strike in Sumy damaged an “enterprise” reveals a key pillar of Moscow’s strategy: economic warfare.
By targeting a local enterprise alongside energy facilities, Russia is aiming to dismantle Ukraine’s ability to sustain itself economically. This is a deliberate attempt to demoralize the population and cripple the state’s capacity to fund its own defense.
Zelensky’s decision to include this detail in his international address is significant. He is making sure the world understands that Russia’s aggression is multi-faceted. It is a war not only on Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, but also on its workers, its businesses, and its economic future.
This adds another layer of urgency to his calls for aid. Ukraine needs not only military protection but also the economic support to withstand this assault and the diplomatic pressure to make it stop.
The strike on the Sumy enterprise is a reminder that the war is being fought on many fronts. While air defense systems can protect the skies, ending the economic war requires a comprehensive peace settlement, the kind Zelensky hopes to achieve with renewed US leadership.