“The attack on Kyiv is a message, but not to Ukraine” – Igor Reiterovich on the symbolism of today’s attack
20 December 2024 16:19
OPINION
Today’s ballistic missile attack on Ukraine’s capital, during which Russians killed one person and wounded nine others, is a direct continuation of Putin’s threats to “test” Western air defense systems in the Kyiv “stadium.”
Yesterday, Russian leader Vladimir Putin called on the West to measure their strength and hold a “technological duel.” According to his fantasy, it would look like this: Russia fires Oreshnik missiles at Kyiv, and Ukraine will try to intercept these missiles with air defense systems provided by the West.
It was in response to this statement that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Putin a d***hole.
Already today, Russian ballistic missiles flew toward Kyiv again, though this time not Oreshnik. In an exclusive commentary for Komersant ukrainskyi
, political analyst Igor Reiterovich analyzed the symbolism of the attack and its connection to the Kremlin dictator’s recent press conference.
“This is really a symbolic step, which is connected to his press conference to show that Russia is not only threatening, but can actually do something. And this is not even a signal to Ukraine. This is another signal to the West that Putin is not going to back down, he believes he has certain mechanisms to influence the processes, and he is going to see this through,”
– the expert emphasizes.
According to Reiterovich, the reaction of the Russian Defense Ministry is also indicative:
“Their Ministry of Assassination, which is like the Ministry of Defense, said that they hit all the planned targets, all the systems, all the Patriots, etc. And this is clearly in line with Putin’s statement that we have missiles that Western air defense cannot shoot down.”
At the same time, the political scientist emphasizes that this attack has a broader context.
“He once again gave the West a pretext, and I think he tied it to the recent meeting in Europe [between Zelenskyy, Macron, and Trump], to the communication that took place between our president and the leaders of the European Union. And he showed that he is ready to raise the stakes, but not to lower them in any way,”
– the expert believes.
In this context, the political scientist warns of possible attacks on the Christmas and New Year holidays.
“There is a possibility that either before the holidays or immediately after the holidays, the attacks will be repeated, because Putin likes such symbolic things. Maybe not during the holidays. But they may resort to another massive shelling. And these will be strikes on the energy sector again, just to knock people out of their psychological equilibrium,”
– predicts Igor Reiterovich.
In conclusion, the expert urged Ukrainians to be vigilant and listen to air raid warnings during the holiday season.
