Turning point in the war in Ukraine?
At the latest since the scaled-down military parade on 9 May, a growing number of voices are saying that Russia is struggling. Popular support for Putin appears to be waning and Russia's military position in its war of aggression against Ukraine has deteriorated. Over the weekend, Ukraine launched a series of major drone attacks on industrial facilities and oil-refining infrastructure in the Moscow region. Several people were killed.
Phenomenal turnaround
Columnist Pierre Haski analyses the situation on the France Inter website:
“Ukraine has become a major drone manufacturing power, producing several million units a year, of various types. ... Kyiv will no doubt start exporting them soon, which marks an incredible turnaround for a country that has constantly demanded more weapons from its allies. … The inability of Russian air defences to stop the Ukrainian attacks at the weekend has now brought the war into the lives of Moscow residents, just as that war has defined the lives of people living in Kyiv for years. For Putin, this is another humiliation after the 9 May parade at which there were no tanks for fear of Ukrainian drones.”
An eye for an eye
Adéla Knapová, reporting for Novinky.cz from eastern Ukraine, describes how people there feel about the attacks on Russia:
“In the east of the country too – I have been living in Kharkiv for the past two years – the locals approve. The Russians need a taste of their own medicine, they say. ... Russia only understands the language of violence, death and aggression. For five years now, it has been deliberately killing Ukrainian civilians and continues to attack kindergartens and hospitals. The Ukrainians, by contrast, are only attacking legitimate military and strategic targets. But Russian civilian victims are to be expected. ... The Russians need to start fearing for their lives. They must be made to feel Putin's lies. To know that you cannot kill and expect to go unpunished.”
Ukraine must not attack civilians
The Süddeutsche Zeitung warns:
“Ukraine must not, under any circumstances, get anywhere near their invaders' levels of ruthlessness and brutality towards civilians. If it does, it could lose more than it gains – including its partners' trust. There is no need to attack residential buildings in order to return the war to its 'home port', as Zelensky put it. Hundreds of drones in the sky over Russia, visible across the entire country via mobile phone footage, will suffice – even if they only target military objectives.”
Kyiv has the best cards now
Alo Raun, deputy head of the opinion department at Delfi, offers the following insights:
“As surprising as it may seem, it is Ukraine that increasingly holds the 'trump cards' in this war. This may even be a subtle turning point. It means we need to let Ukraine do its own thing, so to speak. The worst that could happen now is if the West were to step in and mess things up. Instead, it should focus on tightening sanctions rather than helping Moscow find a convenient way out. In the West, the desire for peace in Ukraine is all too often driven by the wrong reasons.”
Ground is shifting but Putin hasn't noticed
The head of the Kremlin has lost touch with reality, Expresso emphasises:
“Unlike Putin, who lost contact with the people of his country long ago and lives a life of increasing isolation, most of society and a section of the Russia elite know only too well that a political victory in this war is practically impossible. ... Putin faces the huge problem of simultaneously having to deal with the military situation in Ukraine and the growing dissatisfaction among the Russian population. The Russian president may not have changed, but his country has. Big time.”
The hour of reckoning
In a Facebook post, author Viktor Shenderovich recalls a moment in 2014 when, seeing a grandmother with her grandson, he realised that it was only a matter of time before innocent Russian citizens would have to pay for Russia's crimes:
“I feel sorry for every individual, but not for the people as a whole. At the time, of course, I had no idea what this reckoning would look like. Even now, seeing Russia gradually going up in flames, I can only picture it in the broadest terms. ... But it is crystal clear: the hour of reckoning is upon us. ... And the longer this nightmare continues, the more Ukrainian blood these villains manage to spill, the higher the price and the more painful the path out of this blood-stained story will be.”
Zero prospect of genuine talks
The Moscow correspondent of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Silke Bigalke, sees no signs of a shift:
“Putin's terms have never changed: he is only open for a ceasefire and for more talks if Ukrainian troops withdraw from the Ukrainian regions that Putin has declared as Russian. Putin has never clearly defined what he would consider a victory. If he sticks to his maximum demands, thereby effectively calling for Ukraine's political submission, this war will be fought to exhaustion and beyond. Genuine talks would require Putin to adopt a more pragmatic approach. But there is no sign of that.”