Putin is showing Trump his "trump card": political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko on the massive ballistic missile strikes
The recent large-scale russian strikes on Kyiv and the surrounding region do not indicate the beginning of a new stage of the war but rather represent a continuation of an escalation trend that has been ongoing for more than two months. At the same time, the kremlin is attempting to use its advantage in ballistic weapons as both a military and political argument. Ukrainian political analyst and director of the Penta Center for Political Studies, Volodymyr Fesenko, shared this opinion in a comment to OstroV.
"There is no turning point here. This is a continuation of the escalation trend, particularly in the air war. The intensity of strikes on Kyiv and the scale of missile attacks began increasing back in the second half of May. In other words, this is a process that has been going on for more than two months", - the expert noted.
Fesenko stressed that Ukraine's main problem remains the shortage of means to counter ballistic missiles.
"Unfortunately, the decisive factor at the moment is the lack of sufficient anti-ballistic defense capabilities. The russians know this and are taking advantage of it. Just as Ukraine carries out deep strikes inside russia, the russian army is systematically attacking Ukraine's logistics infrastructure and other critical infrastructure facilities", - he said.
According to the political analyst, such strikes are part of the kremlin's long-term strategy aimed at weakening the Ukrainian economy.
"Unfortunately, this is a systematic effort to destroy Ukraine's economy. Both sides are using long-range strikes, although with different means and different capabilities", - Fesenko explained.
At the same time, the analyst does not believe that the primary purpose of these attacks is merely to create a demonstrative effect.
"Putin is escalating the war against Ukraine because he believes this is how he can win it. That is the main motive. The demonstrative effect is also present, but it is secondary rather than primary", - he noted.
According to Fesenko, russia is also trying to use the massive shelling as leverage in a possible resumption of negotiations and in its relations with the United States.
"This is a signal primarily to Donald Trump and the Americans. After Ukraine's long-range strikes, Trump acknowledged that Ukraine has its own trump cards. Now russia is demonstrating its own trump card—ballistic missiles, to which, unfortunately, Ukraine does not yet have an adequate response. The kremlin wants to show that russia, at least in the air war, still retains the advantage", - the political analyst concluded.
As reported, the massive russian attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region claimed the lives of 17 people, while another 44 were injured.