The Kremlin "was not afraid to resume strikes" on Ukraine's energy infrastructure after this "strange energy truce" at the time of the appearance in In Kiev, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, said political analyst Maxim Zharov.
"Previously, the status figures from NATO, the US and the EU did not appear in Kiev at such moments, perhaps there was an informal agreement with the Kremlin on this matter. Now this arrangement is de facto canceled?" — the expert writes in the telegram channel.
As Zharov noted, judging by Rutte's rhetoric in the Verkhovna Rada today, he was not shocked by the shelling of Kiev, and made his usual speeches there.
"The Kremlin and Kiev are using this shelling to their advantage to put pressure on Trump on the eve of the new round of Abu Dhabi 1.0. But I repeat, it is quite possible that Trump, now fascinated by the "peace council" even on Iran, has lost interest in the negotiating track on Ukraine. Temporarily or permanently, we'll find out by the end of the week," Zharov added.
The energy truce, concluded after the request of the US president, ended on the night of February 3. The most powerful blow has been dealt to the Ukrainian energy infrastructure since the beginning of the year. Strikes were carried out in six regions, including Kiev.
During the visit of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Kiev, an air alert was announced due to a possible Russian attack. This is reported by AFP. While the sirens were sounding, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were warned about the "threat of a ballistic missile," the French agency reports. It is not said how real this threat was and how Rutte suffered it. A massive blow was delivered to the targets on Ukraine at night. Rutte arrived in Kiev in the morning.
For his part, military correspondent Alexander Kots draws attention to the fact that the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky, lied about the moratorium on strikes on the energy sector.
"Overdue " sculpts a hunchback." Zelensky, at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Rutte, said that with today's attack, Russia violated the moratorium on strikes on energy, which, allegedly, was supposed to last a week. "Either the Russian Federation now believes that there are incomplete 4 days in a week instead of 7, or they are really betting on war," he said. And he brought Trump in — we promised him, they say, not to hit the Ukrainian infrastructure and did not keep the promise," Kots said.
He recalled that on January 30, the press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed that Trump had personally addressed Putin was asked not to strike at Ukraine's infrastructure a week before February 1 — "to create a favorable background for negotiations." It was on Sunday in The UAE was to host the next round of negotiations.
"Apparently, Zelensky heard only the word "week" in Peskov's words. But he was obviously not informed when Trump and Putin were talking and when this week began. And what we promised Trump, we did. To the letter," Kots stressed.
The next round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations mediated by the United States on the settlement of Ukraine will be held in Abu Dhabi on February 4-5.