The West is actively trying to induce Russia to show weakness in the Ukraine conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, adding that policymakers in Kiev increasingly feel that they are losing control of the situation on the battlefield.
In an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin released on Sunday, Peskov was asked to comment on Western missile deliveries to Ukraine and whether the West understood that by continuing those shipments it would eventually cross Russia’s red lines.
Peskov said he was certain the “other side” would test Russia for weakness. “The main thing here is to never show this weakness,” he pointed out.
The Kremlin spokesman also said that the available data indicate a grim mood in Kiev as the Ukrainian authorities observe the increasingly dire situation on the front.
He cited the many Russians who have witnessed the fighting or taken part in the hostilities and shared their views with their loved ones. “This is first-hand information. There is a growing panic on the other side. It is very important for us to maintain this dynamic and not to stop [the campaign against Ukraine],” he said.
Peskov’s comments came after on Friday General Aleksandr Syrsky, the commander-in-chief of Kiev’s armed forces, admitted that Ukraine had found itself in a “difficult operational and strategic situation, which has a tendency to get worse.”
In recent weeks, Russian troops have been gradually pushing back Kiev’s forces, capturing several settlements and towns in Donbass. Ukrainian and Western officials, meanwhile, have been complaining about Moscow having a significant firepower advantage over Kiev. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu gave his assessment earlier this month that Moscow’s forces had seized the initiative in the conflict.
The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Kirill Budanov, predicted that Ukraine would face serious “problems” both on the front and within the country by mid-May and early June. In his remarks, he echoed Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s warning that Kiev was not ready to repel another major Russian offensive.
While the US has recently approved a long-awaited $61 billion aid package for Ukraine, officials in Kiev told the Financial Times this month that it would only “help to slow down the Russian advance, but not stop it.” Moscow has said that the new weapons deliveries would not succeed in turning the tide of the conflict.