Escalation implies continuation of war, and Kyiv encirclement erases all Russian failures

Israeli military analyst Yigal Levin said this live on air of Espreso TV channel.

"When Ukraine went on the counteroffensive at the end of August - beginning of September, Putin had a choice - escalation and de-escalation. He chose the first - he started mobilizing people. We can see that it was with bang and creak, but it succeeded. They were able to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people and more are coming," he said.

According to Levin, escalation implies only one logic - continuation of war for many years.

"There cannot be a full launch of the military machine, and then engage in a bloody "push-pull" in Donbas. This does not make sense and rationality even for the Kremlin," analyst stressed.

He said that Kyiv is important as a political, administrative, and economic center.

"With not even a fall, but encirclement and complete isolation - this cancels out all their failures. Moskva cruiser, Zmiinyi Island, retreat, all brilliant operations of Ukrainian Armed Forces. All this will not make sense. One such success will offset all their failures. For them, it is a desirable target. If they believe they can attack with cannon fodder like near Bakhmut. They could very seriously have such plans," Levin concluded.