Putin seeks to influence Trump, gain leverage with new missile launch, says military expert

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

“Putin's actions are not aimed at today or tomorrow, they are aimed at January 21, 2025. He wants to influence Trump and bargain for more. Today we are talking about political bargaining and making sure that Putin emerges victorious in the eyes of the Russian audience,” Badrak emphasized. 

According to the director of the Center for Army, Conversion, and Disarmament Studies, it is evident that Putin will not use nuclear weapons when Russian troops are advancing and taking the offensive in Ukraine. Even if 100–150 Ukrainian drones were to target Russia, Putin is unlikely to resort to nuclear weapons, despite the doctrine suggesting their use in such circumstances.

"All this will be decided at the end of January 2025. That’s what Putin’s actions are aimed at. However, he is not that decisive. I believe it’s a tug of war, and this knot will be untied in the first month of 2025," Badrak suggested.

• On Thursday, November 21, the Russian army deployed MiG-31K and Tu-95 aircraft to launch attacks on Ukraine. The Dnipropetrovsk region was targeted, resulting in injuries to two people.
• On the morning of November 21, the Russian army launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, a Kinzhal and an Kh-101, at the territory of Ukraine. Ukrainian air defense forces destroyed 6 targets.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that the Russian military used a new missile, likely an intercontinental ballistic missile, against Ukraine on November 21.
• Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is taking diplomatic steps and using UN and NATO mechanisms due to Russia's use of a new type of missile that has all the flight characteristics of an intercontinental ballistic missile.