Sergey G. Maidukov
On Thursday, Ukraine claimed that Russia launched an ICBM at the eastern city of Dnipro. What actually struck was not an intercontinental ballistic missile, but rather a new, shorter-range type that is capable of carrying nuclear warheads. But whatever the weapon's capabilities, it was another escalation in a war that has been intensifying in recent weeks.
On Sunday morning, Russia launched another massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine's energy and other critical infrastructure.
Most of the 120 missiles and 90 drones were shot down or otherwise neutralized, but some got through, leading to power outages and a resurgence of blackouts.
This photograph shows inside a damaged rehabilitation centre for people with disabilities following a Russian attack in Dnipro, on Nov. 21. FLORENT VERGNES/AFP via Getty Images
Some observers suggested that this was Putin's way of reminding Ukraine that it is facing another brutal winter with heat and light meaning survival. I interpret this as Russian President Vladimir Putin's anxious response to the United States' decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles for attacks on targets within Russia.
While a formal announcement of the U.S. decision came a few hours after the attack, it would be imprudent to assume that Russian intelligence was unaware of it beforehand.
Even before Donald Trump's election victory, the president-elect expressed his intention to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end as soon as possible. Both sides, therefore, are preparing for negotiations in one way or another. Although Russia is in a hurry to consolidate its gains on the various fronts, overall, it had notably decreased its missile attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. Ukraine, for its part, had avoided deploying combat drones against Russian oil refineries.
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