I read the reports and traditionally wanted to provide an overview of those killed and injured by Russia, the damage from Russian strikes, and the results of Ukraine’s Defense Forces. But then I decided that something else was slightly more important. More on that tomorrow regarding the current flow.
1. I observe comments from Russians of varying degrees of benevolence and our fellow citizens in the context of strikes on Wildberries logistics warehouses and the Russian fleet in the Azov-Black Sea basin.
Russians lament about Ukraine’s “retaliatory actions” to which Russia “responds in return.” Like, don’t go too far. It’s smoking. And the fur coats are a pity. 4000 fur coats!
As for us, there is concern in the spirit that expanding the target list within Russia is an escalation that will lead to a harsher reaction from Putin.
Both sides, in different words, within the same narrative, say one thing: Ukraine is somehow expanding the war space, and this is alarming.
It makes you want to ask: are you doing this on purpose, or are you ill?
Have you forgotten?
Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2014, violating agreements by recognizing the “LPR/DPR” and withdrawing from negotiations. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale ILLEGAL and UNPROVOKED military aggression. That is, Russia made the first move – an aggressive maneuver that continues to this day. It persists.
Aggression has not been stopped. In this construct, Russia cannot inherently do anything “in response.” It is the initiator. It continues aggressive actions in various ways.
It is Ukraine that has the comprehensive right to respond. And Ukraine is so far using only about 2% of it, never even coming close to the boundaries set by Russia.
2. Why does Russia continue its suicidal aggression?
Because the Kremlin’s main goal has not been achieved: Ukraine still exists as a SUBJECT, having the right to make universally recognized CLAIMS.
Compensation will have to be made; how did you expect differently?
If Russia had succeeded in “Kyiv in 3 days,” the Kremlin would have established a pro-Russian government, created some entity resembling “Ukraine,” and absolved itself of all sins on behalf of that entity.
It would have recognized Crimea and Donbas. Forgiven the killed, tortured. Destruction, and so on. It would have arranged a total “normalization.” At the very least, it would have created several “Ukraines” for a legal stalemate. But nothing worked out.
Because neither Kyiv, nor Kharkiv, nor even Chernihiv could be taken. And the temporarily occupied territories do not pull off an alternative Ukraine.
This means the claims will not be lifted. And that includes the entire spectrum of sanctions, due to which Russia is degrading.
Therefore, since 2022, Russia has been consistently doing everything to collapse Ukraine as a state.
Therefore, no hypothetical control over Donbas as a concession will end the war; it may slightly change its form.
As early as 2022, Russia destroyed all of Ukraine’s oil refining facilities and major oil depots. Then, it targeted gas processing and began attacking extraction sites.
At that time, Ukraine had no adequate means of defense and no long-range offensive capabilities.
Russia systematically attacked defense industry enterprises, chemical plants, machine-building factories, and metallurgical enterprises, among others. Prioritizing deindustrialization where they could, the Russians then shifted their focus to ports and grain elevators. Subsequently, attacks targeted logistics centers and warehouses.
Last year, Russians consistently attacked pharmaceutical company warehouses. They DELIBERATELY aimed to deprive Ukraine of medicines ahead of a humanitarian disaster in winter, which they were preparing to create.
Is this a secret to anyone? They were preparing to destroy millions of civilians. They simply failed.
3. I emphasize, all this started long BEFORE Ukraine had means not just for mirror-parity, but for any attacks deep into Russia.
On October 21, 2023, (!) a deliberate Russian strike hit the Nova Poshta terminal in Korotych (Kharkiv region). Six killed, 17 injured. To date, more than 200 NP company facilities have been attacked, one-fifth completely destroyed, including 12 terminals.
In May 2024, the Epicenter hypermarket in Kharkiv was attacked with KABs. Nineteen killed, over 60 injured. Since then, several large network facilities have been affected.
At the same time, in May 2024, the Faktor-Druk printing house in Kharkiv was attacked. Seven killed, over 20 injured. Recently, there have been significant losses of print runs by publishers in logistics centers.
30+ killed and 100+ injured. Only in three episodes. Only in Kharkiv.
What Wildberries did we escalate back then?
In Dnipro, Odesa, Poltava, Mykolaiv, Sumy… other cities can cite dozens of facts of Russian attacks. Plus dozens of strikes (including casualties) on civilian ships near Odesa and on the Danube in 2022-2024.
So, there’s no need to explain anything here. The actions of the parties are absolutely incomparable.
The first targets deep in Russia were exclusively military, mainly airfields.
A more or less consistent campaign of strikes on Russian oil refineries began in 2024, TWO YEARS after Russia wiped out all Ukrainian oil refining.
Can this be considered “Ukraine’s response”? Can it be considered an “escalation”? Well, if you want, consider it so. The victim began to fight back—it’s escalating!
But the two-year lag even on refineries suggests that Ukraine was not the first to start. It is acting absolutely within its rights by targeting Russian facilities.
4. In conclusion: Russia consistently and significantly ahead of even hypothetical retaliatory actions expanded the list of targets in Ukraine to bring our country down.
Among these targets long included railways, medical facilities and ambulances, farms and crops, civilian administrative buildings, trade facilities… Not to mention residential buildings.
Russia DELIBERATELY and WITH IMPUNITY destroyed all this because Ukraine had no means to respond.
Now it does. So, who has been escalating whom all these years?
It turns out that Russia was throwing stones in a glass house. Because the Wildberries warehouses near Elektrostal are child’s play.
Open the map and look, for example, at the sector between Domodedovo and Vnukovo. There is so much delicious stuff there, it will make your head spin. All of it will burn to ashes if such a decision is made by the Ukrainian command.
Did part of the “Southern Gates” complex burn today? Well, the rest will burn too. Did the warehouse in Koledino survive? No worries, this will be corrected.
Is Putin killing sailors on civilian ships? He has been killing them before. Only without consequences.
Why did Russia invent another provocation with an alleged attack on the CPC (I’ll discuss this in more detail tomorrow)? Because they have no other moves.
Without the critical destruction of Ukraine, they cannot break our country. Therefore, it is not in their interest to agree to an “air ceasefire” – only under pressure. That’s why they want Ukraine to be forced into a UNILATERAL withdrawal and also fundamentally restricted in long-range means.
In this situation, hanging onto Ukraine is either madness or conscious sabotage.
The only way out is to stop Russian aggression, withdraw troops, hand over war criminals, and compensate for the damage. Then – normalization.
The main thing is a ceasefire. I have written about this a thousand times: a ceasefire yesterday. Only Russia can start this, but it doesn’t want to.
Until this happens, Putin will continue killing Ukrainian doctors, farmers, logisticians, publishing employees… And we will accelerate the burning of the war’s economic base. And sanctions will keep pushing Russia further and further back…
If you want the war not to spread into Russian territory, and for Russia to recover from its problems in the foreseeable future (15 years), – talk to Putin, not Ukraine.
In the image: Consequences of the Russian attack on Kyiv, 07/19/2026. Lukianivka is burning…
