Ukraine rejects capitulation, Putin escalates pressure

At the same time, we see contradictory actions on the part of the Russians: on the one hand, the formation of a delegation headed by the chairman of the Union of Writers of the Russian Federation, and on the other hand, numerous statements about the importance of negotiations and even agreement on quick results, such as large-scale prisoner exchanges.

The only question is how Ukraine should perceive this.

Putin sees the end of the war only in the context of his own victory. Stopping at the current front line does not ensure this victory. In this case, Russia occupies scorched Ukrainian land, where there is no one and nothing left that could be presented to its society as a victory. You can't hold a parade on Red Square because of the occupation of Bakhmut. And since Putin sees himself as a historical figure, even if he can now use propaganda to convince society of a great victory by capturing the village of Zelenyi Kut (which, by the way, is not yet occupied), it is not a fact that doubts about this will not arise in future generations. 

"In this context, the fighting along the front line is only an addition to the war being waged in the air and in the information space. Their goal is primarily to influence that part of Ukrainian society that is not directly fighting. People in the rear should want an end to the war so badly that they encourage the government to agree to all of the Kremlin's demands."

The missile war against high-rise buildings is aimed at the people who live in these high-rise buildings and do not want to be shelled. "Put pressure on the government - and it will stop," Putin tells them, sending another hundred drones to Kyiv, Kharkiv or Dnipro.

The information war is aimed at disillusioning people in order to break their will to resist. "Put pressure on the government - and the criminal Territorial Center of Recruitment will stop hunting you and your relatives," Putin tells them, and at the same time sends missiles to the training center for mobilized people.

Putin critically needs negotiations on Ukraine's capitulation. Since Ukraine does not agree to capitulation, he will continue to exert pressure - both through military operations along the entire front line, and through air and information attacks, so that we surrender ourselves.

In these conditions, maintaining the unity of Ukrainians in the face of the Russian invasion is a critical challenge - both for our government and for each of us.

Source

About the author. Mykola Knyazhytskyi, journalist, member of the Ukrainian paliament.

The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the authors of blogs or columns.