My theory is that the west did this against the wishes of Zelenksy. Putin has previously said that he wasn’t targeting Zelenksy for assassination.
This might change now. Which is exactly why the Ukrainians are claiming they are not responsible. Imo it’s very clear that Zelenksy did not order this.
I don’t think the west is happy with how the conflict is going and put this in motion to put Zelenksy on the hot seat. Perhaps they teamed up with someone in the ukr military to do this… or it could have been a strategic partner. Hard to say.
But If Seymour Hersh’s recent reporting is correct… then Zelenksy has been buying gas from Russia, skimming off those flows, and completely undermining the sanctions regime against Russia.
He’s doing this as he makes poor decisions. He should have strategically retreated from Bakmhut at least 2 months ago. Now the chances of a counteroffensive succeeding are very slim.
Now the west wants to push him out, so they bait Putin, or potentially even will make the move themself and have everyone frame Putin.
But that’s just a theory. I’m curious who you guys think is behind this assassination attempt.
Maybe you’re reading from too many biased MSM sources.
They don’t have good info.
They would have you believe Russian casualties are higher despite the fact that the Russians enjoy an artillery advantage or at least 5:1 (in terms of shells fired daily).
And most casualties in the conflict are from artillery fire.
I do think Russia wanted to end this all quickly, as you said. But when that didn’t work they pivoted, rather quickly, to a grinding war of attrition where they have the clear advantage.
Doesn’t help that Zelenksy is undermining sanctions and buying russian diesel, while skimming for kickbacks.
That should tell you everything you need to know about how Putin feels about Zelenksy and this conflict.
Putin is literally making money off the diesel being used to power nato tanks in Ukraine. Think about that for a second.