The Kremlin’s crude blackmail: how Russia is trying to strengthen its position ahead of the American visit
2 June 20:40
The Kremlin’s threats and the latest wave of attacks on Ukraine may be linked to intensified behind-the-scenes negotiations between Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington, as well as to a possible visit by U.S. officials to both capitals.
Political analyst Ruslan Bortnik expressed this view in a comment to "Komersant Ukrainian", commenting on the Kremlin’s statements and the latest escalation of Russian attacks.
According to him, Russia’s current actions are an attempt to exert pressure ahead of the likely arrival of an American delegation.
“This is absolutely obvious and crude blackmail. This is yet another strike, and it seems to me that it is timed to coincide with the likely arrival in the coming days, or at most a week, of the Witkov and Kushner delegation to both Kyiv and Moscow,” Bortnik stated.
According to the expert, Moscow is trying to demonstrate its strength and use the threat of new strikes as a tool of political pressure.
“This is an attempt to demonstrate strength and, through this blackmail regarding further strikes on Kyiv, to use threats as a means of pressure on Ukraine,” he noted.
The political analyst also drew attention to diplomatic contacts between Russia and the U.S.
According to him, an additional sign of active negotiations was the Russian side’s statement that it had submitted its proposals for resolving the war to the U.S. administration.
“Last week, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that they had submitted their proposals regarding Trump’s peace plan. At the same time, Ukraine also submitted its proposals regarding a ceasefire and a truce plan,” Bortnik recalled.
Meanwhile, the press secretary of the Russian dictator, Dmitry Peskov, stated that the Kremlin is ready to end the war they started, but this can only happen if the President of Ukraine orders the Armed Forces of Ukraine to withdraw from the territories Russia is attempting to occupy.
“The conflict in Ukraine can be ended by the end of the day if Zelenskyy orders the Ukrainian Armed Forces to withdraw from Russian regions,” Peskov stated.
According to Bortnik, a complex negotiation process is currently underway between Washington, Moscow, and Kyiv, and Russia’s military pressure is being used as a lever of influence during these talks.
“This involves intense behind-the-scenes diplomacy, a struggle that, unfortunately, is accompanied by barbaric bombings by Russia and a system of blackmail,” the expert concluded.
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What is known about the shelling on the night of June 2
On the night of June 2, Russian forces struck Kyiv and regions of Ukraine with ballistic missiles and drones. As a result of the airstrikes, residential buildings in many areas of the capital were damaged.
The Podilsky district of Kyiv suffered the most damage, where a nine-story building was partially destroyed after being hit, causing damage to the upper floors.
In the Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, and Chernihiv regions of Ukraine, dozens of people are reported to have been injured, and twelve people were killed in Dnipro.
As of the evening of June 2, the number of casualties from the Russian attack on Kyiv had risen to 90 people.
Fifty-two injured people are currently in hospitals, including two children. Six more people died as a result of the Russian attack.
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