The winter months are "a weapon in the Russian way of warfare," and they intend to use the cold months to wage their battles against Ukraine, including with moves to continue crippling the Ukrainian power grid, which could double the current refugee crisis, retired Air Force Brigadier Gen. Blaine Holt, a Newsmax contributor, said Thursday.
"Part of their strategy is they've been waiting for this," Holt, a former U.S. Deputy Military Representative to NATO, told Newsmax's "Wake Up America," pointing out that in past wars, the Russians used winter to their advantage against foes like Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolph Hitler.
During an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council Wednesday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for action to stop Russian air strikes that are targeting the country's vital infrastructure, leaving cities in darkness and cold with winter setting in.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russia hit Ukraine with a missile barrage that forced the shutdowns of nuclear power plants and killed civilians in Kyiv. Zelenskyy said 70 missiles were fired, unleashing the "Russian formula of terror" that hit hospitals, schools, transport infrastructure, and residential areas.
Holt, though, said that the newest U.S. package of aid that is heading to Ukraine includes 200 generators that "should have been on the way back in August."
"Russia is working on these missile strikes to turn out the lights once and for all," Holt said. "Ukraine has got 50% of the grid down now. This could create and throw the switch on a new refugee crisis of over 10 million people if this continues this way."
Meanwhile, the American people "deserve to know where every nickel is being spent" in aid to Ukraine, said Holt.
"I don't think there are any Americans that are upset about the support of Ukraine, but what we want to know is what are we in for and what are we going to be in for in the future," Holt said. "We've got significant problems here, including a massive security problem on our southern border, so it's not a lack of support for Ukraine. This is an incredibly dangerous war that could spin out of control into Europe and Europe is in trouble."
Further, Holt said there are questions about the decisions that are being made and if the United States has the right strategy in play.
"The last I checked, Russia really isn't running out of missiles, especially if they're firing about 100 a day," said Holt.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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