Russia's missile message: Testing Washington's resolve
- This is a clear message to Washington, but also it's a clear message to Ukrainian people that Putin wants to freeze them in winter, says Orysia Lutsevych for Sky News. The map shows the scale of Russian aggression.
Russian missile attacks signal to Washington that supporting Ukraine may be too costly. Orysia Lutsevych, head of the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, in an interview with Sky News, emphasises that Russia wants to demonstrate it cannot be defeated.
According to Lutsevych, the attacks also aim to send a message to the US President-elect, Donald Trump, indicating the war's costs in Ukraine are too high for the West. "This is a clear message to Washington, but also it's a clear message to Ukrainian people that Putin wants to freeze them in winter," added the expert from the London think tank.
The Kremlin has not achieved its war goals, so Russia is trying to undermine Western support for Ukraine. Lutsevych assesses this as the best chance for Russia to weaken support for Ukraine.
Massive attack on Ukraine
Andriy Sybiha, head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informed that Russia carried out one of the most significant air attacks, targeting cities, civilians, and infrastructure. The Ukrainian Air Force shot down 144 out of 210 drones and missiles.
Russia has not achieved its war goals, and the attacks aim to undermine Western support for Ukraine.
