Khodarenok: Zelensky wants to prove that he has trump cards by attacking Russia with UAVs
During the night, the Russian military shot down over 330 Ukrainian drones over the territory of 10 regions. The massive drone strike by the Ukrainian Armed Forces took place on the eve of the meeting of the American and Ukrainian delegations in Jeddah. Why Kiev took such a step and whether this attack will affect the negotiations in Saudi Arabia - in the material of the military observer "Gazeta.Ru" by Mikhail Khodarenka.
There is no doubt that this strike on the central regions of Russia was sanctioned by the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky. It is possible that he personally participated in the development of the plan of the raid and approved the plan for its implementation.
If we consider that the drone strike on Russia occurred when the Ukrainian delegation had already arrived in Jeddah, then Zelensky's actions should be considered as a logical continuation of his line of behavior, which the world observed on February 28 this year in the Oval Office of the White House. That is, there is a complete unwillingness to make any compromises in terms of a peaceful settlement of the conflict. It seems that the president of Ukraine is going to use this massive blow to prove to the head of the White House that he still has some trump cards in his hands.
It cannot be ruled out that it was with such parting words from Vladimir Zelensky that the Ukrainian delegation was sent to Jeddah. I admit that the president of Ukraine continues to feed his people with these ideas in Jeddah, as he flew to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
However, Vladimir Zelensky was not allowed to hold talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Trump's envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. Apparently, the White House, following the results of the meeting on February 28, was convinced of the utter incompetence of the leader of Ukraine.
The United States demands that Ukraine confirm its readiness for a truce, and Kiev, in turn, offers a cease-fire in the air and at sea. On the one hand, this is the unconditional progress of the military and political leadership of Ukraine, which until recently proposed mythical "victory plans" and held non-binding "peace summits." On the other hand, no partial ceasefire proposed by Vladimir Zelensky will ever be implemented. And it is unlikely that this will be seriously discussed in Jeddah. It seems that no discussion of the parties on this issue is even planned.
Most likely, the entire meeting in Jeddah will take place as the American delegation dictates to the Ukrainian side the conditions for the transition to peace, such as "either you accept our conditions, or the situation will only worsen for you, and we will find ways and techniques for this." I assume that such a transition will take place in three stages: a cease-fire (taking into account Moscow's conditions), elections in Ukraine, and the conclusion of a peace treaty.
Such a moment is also interesting. Let's call it purely external. American politicians at such meetings usually look impeccable and stylish. But there have always been questions about the Ukrainian delegation at various previous negotiations. Ukrainian officials arrived at such summits in varieties of paramilitary uniforms, baseball caps, uncut and unshaven.
However, this time the representatives of Kiev changed their traditional attitude and arrived at the talks in Jeddah shaved and dressed according to protocol, that is, in suits (it is quite possible that this is the result of a meeting on February 28 at the White House). The only thing that remained true to his habits was that the president of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, who is known for his boundless stubbornness, flew to Saudi Arabia in his usual black camouflage coat.
As for the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Andriy Ermak, he is far from being the kind of politician who can make any major decisions during the negotiations. Most likely, he will only nod at the meeting in Jeddah. And if he starts to object or demonstrate some kind of behavior to the American delegation, then the meeting will end quickly enough and far from favoring Ukraine.
And it would be completely in vain to expect something in the style of Charles Talleyrand from Andrei Ermak, who is completely colorless, outwardly completely expressionless and overweight. All the head of Zelensky's office in Jeddah is really capable of is signing a finalized mining agreement between the United States and Ukraine and listening to the American conditions for the transition to peace.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok
