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The cowardly airstrike on Dnipro is one of the darkest sides of the conflict that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, if it is possible to rank the horrors at all. More than the death toll (at least 44, but the number grows regularly by the hour), it is the method that cleans all illusions: like 1940 in Coventry and 1945 in Dresden – tragic firsts in the catalog of indiscriminate bombings like in Grozny during the second Chechen war, the fury of arms strikes at the civilian population, a defenseless target destined to spread hatred, terror, insecurity and devastation. After all, this is the path taken, albeit on time, by Vladimir Putin – regularly flipping facts is his trademark. Moscow denies that was the aim and blames local defense for deflecting the missile. The result does not change: total war, destroyed cities, scorched earth.
Let’s also call it “the Doctrine of Yevgeny Prigozhin,” after the name of the oligarch, founder and owner of the Wagner mercenary group, the man who in recent days has leveled the small town of Donetsk Oblast, Soledar, and the Efficiency applauded his men and publicly criticized the army general staff and its leaders, beginning with Valery Gerasimov, the hybrid warfare theorist. His “doctrine” didn’t work, instead Prigožins managed to stand out, shared by another cutthroat, Chechen Ramzan Kadyrov, theorist of total annihilation of the enemy. And Putin is probably playing his very risky game with these two figures. Belittled, criticized and garnered attention (in place of Gerasimov, Putin has placed General Lapin: a surname — “rabbit” in French — that many already scoff at), the various Shoigu and Surovikin must give way to a long-term strategy—a term that seems to announce nothing other than a second major ground offensive.
There is no shortage of evidence: the Duma is about to vote to raise the draft age to 30, and persistent voices speak of an imminent mobilization of a contingent of 300,000 to 500,000 men, and Putin’s recent visit to Minsk does not rule out the possibility Lukashenko will soon be brought into the conflict.
While the rescuers are digging in the rubble of the Dnipro apartment building, Putin congratulates Wagner’s men: “The special military operation – he says – is following a positive trend. I hope our soldiers will cheer us up with their findings anyway”.: Not a word of pity for the senseless massacre that takes place every day in Ukraine, not forgetting the thousands of young Russians hastily herded to the front lines and destined to are not allowed to return to their homes. With the illusory Christmas peace quickly dissolved, Putin’s continuation of the war has a dual purpose. The presidential election of 2024 is on the horizon. It would be the Kremlin man’s fifth term, but Putin wants them with one “We have real victory in our pockets. The glaring failure of the special operation launched eleven months ago is not enough. The hopes for a ceasefire and the start of peace negotiations seem distant chimeras. Ukraine and its invaders are once again preparing for war.