Key Points and Summary
-Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that “new deep strikes have been planned” against targets inside Russian territory, signaling a bold new phase in the war.
-This new offensive posture is a direct retaliation for Russia’s relentless bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
-The shift is made possible by Ukraine’s burgeoning domestic drone and long-range weapons industry.
-By using its own weapons instead of those supplied by the West, Kyiv can strike deep into Russia without needing prior approval from Washington and with a reduced risk of escalating the conflict to involve NATO directly.
Ukraine Is Ready for a New Phase of War with Russia
Hot off the back of a “show of solidarity” summit attended by the leaders of Russia, China, and India, Ukraine has vowed to launch new strikes “deep” into Russian territory. The news comes as Putin looks for support from China and India amid peace talks with Washington, and as the White House looks to slap new sanctions and tariffs on Russia and its global trading partners.
Following a meeting with Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskiii, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Sunday that plans are underway to strike targets deep within Russian territory. The plans were described as a retaliation to recent Russian drone bombardments that killed and injured dozens of Ukrainians in recent weeks and left 60,000 without electricity.
Writing on X, Zelenskyy specifically described planned Ukrainian assaults as a response to the strikes, which saw Russian drones target four energy facilities in Ukraine’s Odesa region in one night. The strikes hit the port city of Chornomorsk the hardest, with residential and administrative buildings damaged and destroyed during the attacks.
“We will continue our active operations in exactly the way needed for Ukraine’s defence,” Zelenskyy said. “The forces and resources are prepared. New deep strikes have also been planned.”
The comments follow earlier reports that Ukraine has been given the go-ahead from Washington and European allies to strike deeper into Russia, following years of hesitation over concerns that doing so would escalate the conflict.
Speaking in August during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian forces can now strike deep into Russia without coordinating with the United States before hand.
“As of today, we are using our domestically produced long-range weapons. And to be honest, we haven’t been discussing such matters with the U.S. lately,” Zelenskyy said.
“There was a time when there were different signals regarding our retaliatory strikes after their attacks on our energy system,” he continued, adding, “That was already a very long time ago. Today, we don’t even mention it.”
Why Now?
The change likely reflects the fact that Ukraine is now producing its own “long-range weapons” in the form of FPV drones.
Using weapons manufactured domestically poses less of a risk of escalating the conflict, at least in terms of U.S. and European involvement.
If Ukraine is successful in causing damage to Russian supply lines and energy infrastructure, or even to its military installations or bass, it cannot be directly blamed on NATO countries.
Using long-range weapons supplied by the U.S. or Europe, however, poses the risk of Russia escalating the conflict and following through on repeated threats of launching retaliatory strikes on NATO soil.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York who writes frequently for National Security Journal. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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