For Russia, war reaches strategic zugzwang - Danilov

For Russia, the war has reached a stage of a strategic zugzwang, where each move worsens the situation, bringing it closer to the end.

That’s according to Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Chief, Oleksiy Danilov, who made the statement on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

He went on to explain his point, offering five arguments to back it.

“Putin's mobilization turned into the fleeing of more than 500,000 Russians, demonstration of how rotten the Russian system is, deaths of untrained conscripts, growth of indignation of the grassroot population, decline in support for the war, and, most importantly, it became a powerful factor of political destabilization in Russia,” Danilov stressed.

Read also: Russia’s efforts to turn tide of war with missile strikes and mobilization fail - WP

Secondly, the NSDC secretary noted that the attempt to annex Ukrainian territories led to an unprecedented consolidation of the entire world around supporting Ukraine and condemnation of Russia (UN General Assembly vote, Oct 12, 2022), which has never been seen in the history of the UN.

Putin's nuclear blackmail, he added, has led to a “complete reboot and modernization of NATO structures, budget increase, rearmament, readiness and capability for a tough and immediate response (nuclear deterrence exercise Steadfast Noon Oct 17, 2022).”

This also poses a threat for Russia to ultimately lose influential partners, including India and China, Danilov noted.

“Ruscist missile strikes on the capital, other cities of Ukraine and critical infrastructure — (has led to – ed.) acceleration of decision-making by allies regarding the transfer of modern air defense systems to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, creation of a powerful air defense system (the Ramstein-6 meeting, Oct 12, 2022),” the NSDC secretary wrote.

Most importantly, he noted, is that the war of aggression, “launched with the aim of destroying Ukraine, led to the formation of a single political Ukrainian nation, which is getting stronger, while the unity of the russian pseudo-federation is melting and entering the stage of semi-disintegration.”