A Ukrainian official stated that drone strikes on Russian soil will increase, indicating that the conflict in Ukraine is gradually shifting into Russia. Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser, ruled out peace talks for now, claiming that any negotiations would signify Ukraine’s surrender and the betrayal of its supporting democracies. Podolyak revealed that Ukraine has heightened its attacks in occupied areas and plans to further increase attacks in Russia, conducted by undercover operatives or “partisans”. He informed Reuters, “There is an increasing number of attacks by unidentified drones launched from the territory of the Russian Federation, and the number of these attacks will increase,” explaining that the war’s current stage involves transferring hostilities to Russian territory. The interview took place in Podolyak’s office in Kyiv’s heavily-guarded government district.
In recent weeks, drone attacks on Russia have significantly intensified, culminating in strikes hitting six Russian regions in one night and resulting in the destruction of transport planes at a military airfield. Although Ukraine generally expresses support for these attacks, it refrains from openly claiming responsibility. Although their Western allies prohibit Ukraine from utilizing donated weapons to strike Russia, they maintain that Ukraine possesses the right to carry out attacks on military targets using its own weaponry.
As the frequency of attacks has increased, Kyiv has highlighted its progress in developing long-range strike weapons to counter Russia’s sustained campaign of air strikes on Ukrainian cities. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy commended the use of new Ukrainian weaponry with a range of 700 km – similar to the distance between Ukraine’s border and Pskov, where a Russian military airbase recently went up in flames.
Ukraine has faced criticism regarding the slow progress of its highly-touted counteroffensive in the east and south, hindered by extensively mined regions and well-prepared Russian defensive lines. Although the operation approaches the three-month mark, there has been no recapture of major settlements thus far. While Russia describes the Ukrainian push as a failure, Kyiv asserts that it intentionally advances slowly to minimize losses.
Podolyak confirmed that Kyiv’s forces continue to advance and expressed hope that Western military aid would continue in the coming months. He rejected the possibility of Ukraine engaging in negotiations with Russia, using explicit language. “Any negotiation process… it will mean the capitulation of Ukraine and the capitulation of the democratic world on the whole,” he stated. Podolyak believed that Ukraine’s Western allies, who have provided billions of dollars’ worth of weaponry, comprehend that there can be no compromise with Moscow. He emphasized that either Russia’s capabilities must be destroyed through military means, requiring the appropriate tools, or the war with such a high level of aggression will persist.
(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Peter Graff)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
