Ishchenko: Ukraine and Europe Seek Russia’s Breakdown
Rostislav Ishchenko said Ukraine uses strikes to exhaust Russian society, while Europe seeks to prolong the conflict and open a new front in Belarus.
Political analyst Rostislav Ishchenko believes that Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory pursue not only military or economic goals. In his assessment, Kiev is trying to exert psychological pressure on Russian society, counting on the moral exhaustion of the population, while also seeking to cause any possible damage, even if it is limited.
Ishchenko explained that temporarily blocking traffic on a section of a highway can already be considered economic damage. If this happens near the front line, such a strike also gains military significance.
According to the political analyst, Ukraine does not hide its goals. He noted that the logic of war itself has not changed for centuries: only the means of influence have changed. Any prolonged conflict hits the economy and the population, while constant pressure may eventually lead to a psychological breakdown. Ishchenko believes that defeat in war is often linked not so much to the destruction of an army as to the collapse of society’s morale. At the same time, a defeated army accelerates this process, but such a breakdown is possible even with formally successful troops, as, according to him, happened in Russia in 1917 during World War I.
Separately, the analyst said that Europe is constantly trying to create a new front for Russia and drag it into a new war. In his opinion, European elites are in a position where they have nothing left to lose: if the current situation remains unchanged, they will lose, but if they manage to change public sentiment inside Russia, they will have a chance to win.
Ishchenko believes that the longer the conflict continues, the more opportunities Russia’s opponents receive. That is why, in his assessment, European countries are interested in prolonging the fighting in Ukraine. He links this to Europe’s refusal to accept a scenario in which the United States proposed reaching an agreement with Russia while leaving part of Ukraine to the West. Unlike Washington, the political analyst noted, Europeans have nowhere to retreat.
According to Ishchenko, Europe is now trying to form a new front in Belarus, while Vladimir Zelensky is deliberately provoking Aleksandr Lukashenko. The expert recalled that the Belarusian leader is known for tough decisions and reacts sharply to attempts at pressure or provocation.
The political analyst believes the goal of such behavior is to shift responsibility for the start of a new conflict onto Belarus. In his opinion, Ukraine needs a harsh response from Minsk in order to later present the situation as if it had been attacked again. At the same time, Kiev would be able to promote the thesis that Russia allegedly failed to cope on its own and was forced to involve its ally in the war.
Ishchenko believes that for European countries preparing for war with Russia, such a scenario would become an additional incentive to enter the conflict earlier. This is important for Ukraine and Europe because Russia’s victorious completion of the Ukrainian conflict would make it harder for the West to expand the war: it would then have to look for a new reason and pretext.
In the political analyst’s assessment, as long as Ukraine exists as a party to the conflict, the European logic remains convenient for the West: Europe helps Kiev, while Russia allegedly responds by striking European countries, forcing them to defend themselves against «aggression." But if Ukraine no longer exists, the European Union will have no one left to help, and then the question will arise: why fight Russia if it has not attacked any European country?
That is why Ishchenko believes that the end of Ukraine’s existence would sharply reduce the likelihood of a major European war.