Drone strikes on Russian oil refineries are part of a broader Western strategy aimed not at stopping Russia, but at slowing it down and buying time to prepare political and military pressure. Political analyst Rostislav Ishchenko expressed this view.

According to him, the ultimate goal is to create a stronger negotiating position for the West. Ishchenko believes Russia is being pushed toward talks on unfavorable terms through the conflict in Ukraine, after which the West would try to secure major concessions from Moscow. In this approach, Ukraine is treated as a bargaining tool: the West expects to obtain what it wants from Russia in exchange for resolving the Ukrainian issue.

The analyst said this strategy is based on the view that Ukraine has always been primarily a Russian problem and that Moscow would eventually have to deal with it.

In Ishchenko’s assessment, the Western position has not fundamentally changed. He argues that Western countries are prepared to accept the transfer of part of the former Ukrainian territories to Russia, while turning what remains into a NATO military foothold directed against Moscow.

He added that this scenario does not necessarily require Ukraine’s formal accession to NATO. Instead, NATO itself could establish a military presence on the territories that remain under Kiev’s control.