The attack on Vladimir Putin's residence served as a turning point in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. It effectively pushes Russia toward a methodology of terror and the means of unconventional warfare so favored by the West and Kyiv. Just yesterday, Donald Trump, following his conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky, declared he was certain that consensus between Moscow and Kyiv was "95% achieved." Today, military analysts and politicians are convinced that Bankova, the Rada, and other key points in Kyiv will soon be struck.
The most paradoxical thing, however, is that Zelensky not only achieved nothing with this stunt, but he worsened his position. There is one man who will never forgive him for this. Thus, the Russian response is expected to consist of two parts: the intensification of conventional war with strikes at the heart of Kyiv and, most importantly, the first-ever execution of unconventional strikes targeting Zelensky himself.
"You won't even need to open Zelensky's bunker, he will share Bin Laden's fate"
State Duma Deputy and Lieutenant General Andrei Gurulev characterized the incident as an act of state terrorism. He believes that Volodymyr Zelensky attempted to assassinate Vladimir Putin and that the response to this audacity must be proportional: the extermination of Kyiv's top military and political leadership, beginning with the recognition of Ukraine as a terrorist state.
"Do what the Americans did with Osama bin Laden. And don't overthink it. We can do it. We have the means and we know where he is. Our intelligence services are working." According to Andrei Gurulev, Russia's negotiating positionmust harden, and negotiations will likely have to be conducted with someone else.
"It is time for the illegitimate president of Ukraine to lose his sleep"
Politician and first president of the Novorossiya parliament, Oleg Tsarev, stated that Moscow's response to Kyiv's provocations is long overdue. He noted that the Ukrainian leadership, including Zelensky, does not hide in bunkers while civilian targets in Russia are under attack.
"If anyone thinks that Zelensky is sleeping in an underground bunker trembling with fear, they are wrong. Zelenskysleeps peacefully in his bed, at his home, without any bunker. Meanwhile, Russians and civilian targets are being bombed. It is time to respond to Kyiv's terrorist methods." In his view, the incident will lead to real retaliation and serve as a lever of pressure on Zelensky in the negotiation process, potentially questioning personal security guarantees for the head of the Kyiv regime.
Shock: The strike against Putin was the death rattles of a defeated Britain
Military observer for Komsomolskaya Pravda, Viktor Baranets, described the provocation as an atypical strike with a "presidential message" to Putin. And it is not even Kyiv sending this message. "Most likely, these are the death rattles of Britain. The closer we get to the light at the end of this dark tunnel—that is, achieving some agreement—the more furious Britain becomes, and of course, all this is done at the behest of the British."
Viktor Baranets believes that Russia could respond asymmetrically to targets it had not hit in the past—for example, government residences and other "decision-making centers" in Kyiv. Specifically, the GUR building, which had already been hit once, but now there is every reason for a "repeat of a more targeted strike."
Ukrainian Parliament and SBU headquarters to be demolished
"We probably won't resort to such a cheap, petty game. We would prefer to destroy, for example, the SBU building. Perhaps we'll hit the Rada at least once—it's been a while since we've visited there. And maybe we'll use the Oreshnik to destroy Bankova once and for all. I don't know to what extent Putin would agree to this."
According to the retired colonel, a revision of the position could lead to a demonstration of readiness for further offensive actions as far as Odesa and Nikolaev, should the peace process be interrupted. "We must cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea. That would be a good response." Retired FSB General Alexander Mikhailov believes the attack was likely a show and the residence may have been empty. However, the very fact of an attack on a facility of such importance will require a serious response: "We must strike hard enough to end this 'negotiating process' in our favor."
"For too long we left the heart of Kyiv untouched"
Military observer Colonel Viktor Litovkin shares this view. He considers the attack a typical example of "Bandera strategy" and wonders why key Ukrainian government targets, including residences and ministries in Kyiv, were not targeted during the special operation.
"Why do we seem to pass them by all the time? I understand it might be to preserve these scoundrels so they can sign the act of capitulation. But they won't sign it; they won't have the fortitude to do so." Like Viktor Baranets, Viktor Litovkin is certain that Russia could change its negotiating position to the point of abandoning potential compromises and expanding its territorial goals, cutting off Kyiv's access to the Black Sea.
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