Russian President Vladimir Putin does not need an end to the war, so he seeks to escalate the situation so that his newly elected US counterpart, Donald Trump, cannot reach a settlement.
This was stated by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Thursday, in an address to the nation, as quoted by "Ukrinform".
He recalled that on Thursday in Kazakhstan, Putin again "advertised" its missiles - "its readiness to kill and destroy".
"Putin clearly wants to add thousands more. He has no interest in ending this war. Moreover, Putin wants to prevent others from ending this war. By brandishing his "Nutcracker" now, he aims only to frustrate President Trump's efforts, which are certainly after his inauguration, Putin wants to escalate the situation now, so that President Trump will not be able to end the war", Zelensky is convinced.
According to the president, Putin is the only one to blame for this war and the only one who believes in the war.
"That is why Putin's escalation is now a form of pressure aimed at ultimately forcing the President of the United States to accept Russia's terms. We are aware of all existing threats," the president emphasized.
Separately, he urged all Ukrainians to stay in shelters when there are air raid alerts and missile threats are announced.
"This is a firm rule - a rule that does not depend on any statements coming from Russia. Right now there may be even more attempts by Russia to sow fear and despair in Ukraine. We all need resilience to get through this. We need unity with all our partners," he believes.
Russia selects targets in Ukraine that could include "decision centers" in Kiev in response to Ukrainian strikes deep into Russian territory with Western weapons, President Putin said.
Russian attacks have so far not hit government buildings in the Ukrainian capital. Kiev is heavily defended by air defenses, but Putin says Russia's Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which was first fired at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro last week, cannot be intercepted.
"Of course, we will respond to continued strikes on Russian territory with long-range Western-made missiles, as already stated, including possibly continuing to test the Oreshnik. in combat conditions, as was done on November 21," Putin said at a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Kazakhstan.
Russia claims that Ukraine fired US ATACMS ballistic missiles into western Russia for the first time on November 19, prompting it to respond two days later by firing the Oreshnik, a new medium-range missile, at Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
Russia has since said that Ukraine fired more ATACMS missiles at Russia's Kursk region on November 23 and November 25.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also commented on the massive shelling of Ukraine, presenting it as a response to the new attacks on Russian territory by US long-range ATACMS missiles.
"In total, 100 systems were used, 100 missiles of various classes that I just spoke about, and 466 drone strikes," the Russian president listed, indicating that these were figures for the past two days.
Putin criticized the Biden administration's decision to allow Ukraine to use Western missiles against Russia, suggesting it could be a strategy -- either to make it easier for Trump to undo something or to make it harder for him to act in relations with Russia.
"Regardless, I think Trump will find a solution," said Putin and emphasized that Moscow is ready for dialogue.