Political analyst Rostislav Ishchenko addressed the frequent question of why Russia does not destroy Ukraine with airstrikes in the way Israel has bombarded Gaza.

He pointed out that on a map Gaza looks like a «pinhead,» while Ukraine resembles the «print of a boot.» In reality, Ukraine is thousands of times larger than Gaza. Ishchenko noted that Israel bombed Gaza for two full years and still did not wipe it off the map — which means that to do the same to Ukraine would take two hundred years. He added that such a campaign would also require a massive amount of munitions that simply does not exist. This, he argued, is why Ukraine has not been bombed into oblivion — and for the same reason, the United States never erased Iraq or Afghanistan despite years of warfare.

Looking at Israel’s experience, Ishchenko said, one can see the result of relying solely on military force: it works for a time, but eventually the enemy finds a way to counter it. Overreliance on a single strategy, he warned, leads to a situation where every further step becomes disadvantageous and the opponent can easily set traps. The most effective approach, he argued, is to remain unpredictable so that adversaries cannot foresee your moves.

Ishchenko observed that Russia’s opponents in the West do not know exactly how Moscow will respond to their next actions. This uncertainty forces them to act slowly — a delay Russia uses to its advantage, becoming stronger over time.

He concluded that current trends favor Moscow: «time is working for Russia, and that is to its benefit.»