There’s no way for anyone to put a positive spin on what just happened. Only those comparatively few Western radicals driven by bloodlust consider Kiev’s latest terrorist attack to be a positive development worth applauding. All decent people the world over are revolted by what it just did.
Ukraine is so desperate to deflect attention from its loss of Artyomovsk that it just carried out a drone strike against two Moscow apartment buildings. The physical damage was minimal, but this fascist regime apparently targeted residential structures in the Russian capital for psychological purposes. They failed to provoke widespread panic, however, since everything remains normal. Nevertheless, by attacking apartment buildings, Kiev vindicated Russia’s claim that it commits terrorism.
The sequence of events was entirely predictable: Kiev dispatches some drones to attack residential structures in Moscow; most get shot down while two get through to their targets; then Russia reminds everyone that its opponent is a state sponsor of terrorism. The obviousness of how everything played out makes one wonder why this particular attack was approved in the first place. After all, it would have been more effective for them to stage another proxy incursion across Russia’s pre-2014 border.
This insight suggests that Kiev’s decisionmakers are losing their cool under pressure from the US to go through with their NATO-backed counteroffensive despite the low odds of it meeting expectations. Nothing else explains why they’d greenlight this self-discrediting attack against Moscow apartment buildings. It handed Russia a soft power victory and will also contribute to further consolidating that country’s society exactly as every one of this fascist regime’s prior terrorist attacks have done.
No calm and confident actor resorts to terrorism, which is always committed from a position of weakness by the side that can’t match its opponent’s conventional strength. Considering this, it can be intuited that Kiev is well aware of how unlikely it is that its much-hyped counteroffensive will succeed in breaking Russia’s formidable defenses absent some black swan event. Since it doesn’t predict many on-the-ground gains, if any, it’s instead trying to achieve some psychological and soft power ones instead.
Kiev’s recent proxy incursion across Russia’s pre-2014 border and Tuesday morning’s drone strike against Moscow apartment buildings thus make a little bit more sense. They both failed to provoke widespread panic in Russia, but they nevertheless succeeded in capturing the international headlines. The first psychological goal could have had some tangible impact on Russia’s political stability if anything came of these two incidents, while the second soft power one might only result in misleading more Westerners.
That latter goal is actually counterproductive though since it keeps pro-Kiev supporters’ hopes of their side’s supposedly inevitable “ultimate victory” unrealistically high, after which they risk being deeply disappointed should the NATO-Russian proxy war end with some sort of compromise. Politico earlier cited unnamed figures from the Biden Administration who worried about the consequences of that happening, which could lead to a massive loss of morale all across the West.
Not only that, but the most diehard of Kiev’s supporters could become radicalized if they start believing QAnon-like conspiracy theories for explaining this outcome. Garry Kasparov already introduced a ridiculous one into the information ecosystem in early May implying that Russian agents infiltrated the White House, which is supposedly why the US isn’t doing more to help Kiev win. Those who fall for these conspiracy theories could eventually pose domestic threats just like some of QAnon’s supporters.
More Westerners, however, might start wondering why they’re funding a country that attacks their opponent’s residential structures. Many have thus far been indoctrinated into thinking that this is Russia’s modus operandi after Moscow was blamed every time some of Kiev’s faulty air defense missiles accidentally struck their own apartment buildings and playgrounds. Now they might start thinking that Ukraine isn’t all that innocent after it deliberately attacked two of Russia’s residential structures.
There’s no way for anyone to put a positive spin on what just happened. Only those comparatively few radicals driven by bloodlust consider Kiev’s latest terrorist attack to be a positive development worth applauding. All decent people the world over are revolted by what it just did, which discredits Ukraine’s claims of defending itself and not stooping to the level that it falsely claims Russia is already at. There’s now no doubt that Kiev commits terror and just needlessly lost itself even more Western supporters.
"Nothing else explains why they’d greenlight this self-discrediting attack..."
How about this: the people who really make the decisions (in the American swamp) needed some way to stall for time because they were afraid their much-vaunted counteroffensive would fail. They've tried everything else, but this could work — a stalling tactic. Now everyone can make loud noises, wring their hands and cry crocodile tears, 'Oh why, oh why..?' 'But they promised they wouldn't invade Russia-proper and we believed them. Now, everything will have to cool down while we make sure it's all going to be OK; then, and only then — because they listen to us so carefully and are so eager to make sure they do things in a proper, civilised manner, unlike the barbaric Russians — will they feel happy about launching a civilised counteroffensive.' Isn't that 5-D chess, as you (?) call it?
"No calm and confident actor resorts to terrorism, which is always committed from a position of weakness by the side that can’t match its opponent’s conventional strength."
Yep, sounds like the YankeeDoodle swamp to me.
"Considering this, it can be intuited that Kiev is well aware of how unlikely it is that its much-hyped counteroffensive will succeed in breaking Russia’s formidable defenses absent some black swan event."
You're getting there. Just replace 'Kiev' above with 'YankeeDoodleSwamp' and Bob's yer uncle (Am. Eng. 'Bingo!').
"...it’s instead trying to achieve some psychological and soft power ones instead."
Yes...
"...only result in misleading more Westerners."
Try this, '...lead the Gullible&Credulous to believe Kiev can be helped to understand how it may also join the Exceptional League by listening more carefully to its curators, which is why it is no longer planning to launch the Great Counteroffensive until it feels properly reformed by the Truly Exceptional.' That should make everyone feel better about rampant inflation, crumbling social provision and perverse societal values.
"...it keeps pro-Kiev supporters’ hopes of their side’s supposedly inevitable “ultimate victory” unrealistically high."
I'll grant you: they're stupid; but not THAT stupid. No-one harbours such hope any more.
"...which could lead to a massive loss of morale all across the West."
Au contraire, ironically: morale all over the world, not just across the Exceptional parts, at such a significant step towards healthier life on Earth will enjoy the most refreshing gasp of long-awaited fresh air it has experienced in a long, long time. Kinda tough if you live in a swamp, though.
"There’s no way for anyone to put a positive spin on what just happened."
Yes, there is; try this: 'It should start to make some people, who have so far been able to bury their heads in comfortable sands of denial, start to think.'
"There’s now no doubt that Kiev commits terror and just needlessly lost itself even more Western supporters."
OK, so what's not positive about that?