'Putin wants to escalate' before Trump takes office — Zelensky hits back at Oreshnik threats
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to escalate the war in Ukraine so that U.S. President Donald Trump fails to end the full-scale war, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 28.
Zelensky's comments come in response to Putin's fresh threats to target "decision-making centers" in Kyiv and Ukrainian military facilities with Oreshnik, Russia's new intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).
"(Putin) is aiming to disrupt the efforts of President Trump that are sure to come after his inauguration," Zelensky said in his evening address.
"Putin wants to escalate the situation now so that President Trump fails to end the war."
Speaking at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Astana earlier in the day, Putin said that Russia's military leadership is now "choosing targets" in Ukraine to hit them with Oreshnik.
Zelensky called Putin's actions "pressure" to force Trump to accept Russia's terms.
On the campaign trail, Trump has criticized military support provided to Ukraine by Joe Biden's administration and pledged to get the U.S. "out" of the war. While the details of his plans remain elusive, some reports indicate this would entail forcing Ukraine to cede territory and at least temporarily give up on its NATO accession plans.
Russia first launched Oreshnik in an attack against the city of Dnipro on Nov. 21. Shortly thereafter, Putin claimed that "there are currently no ways of countering this weapon," which later was refuted by Zelensky.
Russia's Oreshnik attack followed Kyiv's first successful strike on a military target on Russian soil using U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles. The Russian Defense Ministry admitted more such strikes against targets in Kursk and Bryansk oblasts had followed later.
Chris York
