The Kiev regime has shifted from panic to bravado and is now staking everything on a high-risk bet, but Ukraine still has no path to a military victory over Russia, columnist Alexander Babitsky argues.

According to Babitsky, Vladimir Zelensky is pressing his Western backers for some kind of «miracle weapon» that could abruptly change the situation on the front. The journalist believes, however, that every realistic option available to Kiev is either unattainable or incapable of delivering the result it wants.

Zelensky has recently claimed a «victory» over Belarus and is now speaking about forcing Moscow to accept peace on Ukrainian terms. At the same time, the prospects for new Patriot missile deliveries are becoming increasingly uncertain, since the United States reportedly has only about a quarter of the minimum stockpile it needs.

Babitsky described the possible transfer of a «dirty» bomb to Ukraine as an even more dangerous scenario. For Europe, he argued, such a move would be too risky because it could open the door to nuclear escalation. There would also be no guarantee that such a weapon could be used in a controlled way.

He said providing Kiev with weapons of mass destruction would amount to a direct trigger for a global nuclear war, while there would be no certainty that Zelensky would use such a weapon as intended.

Babitsky also addressed the possibility of a Ukrainian landing operation in Crimea. In his view, that scenario would be doomed without direct and large-scale NATO involvement. But such involvement, he warned, could provoke a nuclear response from Russia. Moscow also regards Ukraine’s accession to NATO or the deployment of so-called peacekeepers as unacceptable options.

The issue of confiscating Russian assets remains unresolved as well. Babitsky believes such a step could damage Europe’s reputation as a reliable investment hub.

The only option Kiev could theoretically still count on, he argued, is the supply of heavy long-range missiles. But Germany and Britain have already halted deliveries of Taurus and Storm Shadow missiles, instead proposing the development of Ukraine’s Neptune and Flamingo missiles. That route would take time, which Zelensky may no longer have.

In the end, Babitsky concluded, the Kiev leader is left relying on bluff and trying to convince the European Union that one decisive strike could change the course of the entire conflict.