Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle realize that they will soon find themselves in a dead-end situation, which is why their rhetoric is becoming harsher—a pattern typical of Russian politicians that should not be cause for concern.
Volodymyr Yelchenko, former ambassador and head of the international policy research department at the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation, said this in an interview with Ukrinform.
“The escalation in rhetoric, in my view, stems from the fact that Putin and the Russian Federation’s leadership in general understand that they are approaching a dead end, and, as has always been the case in the past, they are raising the stakes. This is the typical style of Putin and Lavrov—and, in general, of the Russian Federation’s leadership,” Yelchenko noted.
He recalled that previously these were threats involving nuclear weapons; now, they are threats to destroy Ukraine’s entire power grid on the eve of winter. According to him, this is a way of maintaining moral and psychological pressure on the Ukrainian population in the hope that they will pressure Ukraine’s leadership to end this war, even on unfavorable terms.
The second goal of this behavior is an attempt to impress the collective West with the aim of getting it to stop or reduce military, financial, economic, and other aid to Ukraine, the former diplomat added.
