by Gevorg Mirzayan
[REGNUM] On the night of March 10-11, 2025, the Kiev regime organized the largest raid on Russian territory. Almost 350 drones took off from Ukrainian territory in the direction of Moscow and other cities in Western Russia. As a result, these drones killed three people, almost two dozen were injured. The facades of several residential buildings were also damaged, and several dozen cars were burned.
From a military point of view, this raid can be considered a failure.
" Our air defense systems worked very well - in the end, out of 350 drones, only a few were able to cause damage. Three dead, of course, is an irreparable loss for us, but this is not at all the effect that the Kiev regime initially counted on. In Kiev, they hoped that at least two hundred drones would fly to Moscow and cause a series of explosions in the center of the Russian capital," Andrey Klintsevich, head of the Center for the Study of Military and Political Conflicts, explains to Regnum.
However, on the other hand, even such a modest result will be used by the head of the Kiev regime, Volodymyr Zelensky, to achieve his two goals and objectives.
NEITHER RUSSIA NOR AMERICA NEEDS THE UKRAINIAN MISSILE
First, to threaten Moscow with escalation. “The strike… was a reminder that, despite the constant attacks on it and the colossal losses, Ukraine can still fight back,” writes the American The New York Times.
This means that it is too early for the Americans to write it off.
Moreover, Washington should have understood this precisely on March 11, when the American delegation, consisting of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump adviser Steven Witkoff, went to the Middle East to meet with Zelensky’s head of the administration Andriy Yermak, and the ministers of foreign affairs and defense Andriy Sybiha and Rustem Umerov.
"Zelensky decided to demonstrate strength before the start of negotiations with the Americans in Saudi Arabia. His goal was to show that Ukrainians are ready to fight. That Ukrainians have the strength and capabilities for this. And this coincides with the recent wave of publications in Western media about the Russian army experiencing difficulties at the front. Zelensky wanted the Americans not to put too much pressure on him regarding concessions to Moscow," RIAC expert Alexey Naumov explains to Regnum.
In the end, the goal was not achieved. At the time of submitting the article, the official results of the Ukrainian-American summit were not known, but, if we are to believe the publications of the Western media, Washington insisted that Zelensky's envoys (who came to the meeting in suits) accept almost all of Russia's demands.
However, this does not mean that the Kiev regime will not make new approaches to the demonstration projectile, especially since it has potential.
"Ukraine has the ability to carry out long-range strikes, and also to increase their number. Now we have seen 350 drones - and before there were 150, 200. Next time there may be 500. And an increase in the salvo will lead to the fact that a greater number of drones will be able to get through to Moscow," Klintsevich notes.
Yes, assembling drones requires money, and a lot of it, and from the point of view of the result, these investments seem illogical.
However, Ukraine can launch more than just drones.
"Using the developments of the Soviet era, they are developing a medium-range ballistic missile. This means that the weight of the warhead will no longer be 20 kilograms, but 500," the expert explains. Another thing is that neither Moscow nor Washington, which knows about Ukraine's readiness to sell weapons and technology to various terrorists, needs the Kiev regime to have such a missile.
SEDUCTION FOR A TRUCE
Zelensky's second goal was to drive Russia into a diplomatic trap.
To achieve this, a two-step plan was implemented: first, a large-scale air strike, and then a public call for the implementation of the British armistice formula - in the air, on the ground and at energy facilities.
“This is an additional signal to Putin that he should also be interested in a ceasefire in the air,” the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council said.
Zelensky's administration believes that it will succeed with any version of the Russian response. If Moscow agrees to such a truce, the Ukrainian army will breathe a sigh of relief - after all, Russia dominates the air and simply demolishes the fortified areas of the Kyiv regime's troops with the same KABs.
If Moscow refuses, and even delivers a powerful blow of retaliation, then it will be possible to tell the Americans that it is the Kremlin, not Kyiv, that is holding up the peace process. And at the very least, to get Washington to unblock military and economic aid, which the Americans do not formally provide because the head of the Kyiv regime does not demonstrate a desire for peace.
True, here too Ukraine will most likely face embarrassment.
Partly because Moscow is reading Kiev's game and is not going to fall for the Ukrainian bait. "Russia will not react in any sharp or unpredictable way. It will only act as it has been acting all this time," says Alexey Naumov.
Partly because Trump will not react to it either. The American president needs the conflict to end as soon as possible, and at the same time, he is indifferent to Ukrainian interests. Especially in a situation where Zelensky has personally insulted him. Therefore, he is unlikely to play formal games with Kiev.
Well, and of course, Kyiv is in for an embarrassment because with this blow it shot itself in the foot in terms of image.
"This raid is being used by the Russian side precisely to demonstrate the inconsistency of the Ukrainian positions. After all, instead of demonstrating an offensive on the front, which could demonstrate the strength of the Ukrainian army, Kiev is engaged in attacks on urban residential infrastructure that has no military value," Naumov is sure.
In other words, Kyiv is engaged in terrorism and simply seeks to kill as many civilians as possible. That is why the drones carried a new warhead - shrapnel, when steel balls fly apart at the speed of a bullet during an explosion.
This is why the Russian authorities brought OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu, who was visiting Moscow, to the site where one of the drones hit a residential building.
"They showed him the consequences of the attack, and most importantly, they showed him where the Kiev regime was hitting. It is important to understand that we are talking about residential buildings," said the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov.
Yes, he called for not exaggerating expectations that the OSCE will change its position on the Ukrainian conflict after this. However, on the other hand, the water of facts wears away the ideological stone.
Especially after this stone has become very soft under the new White House administration.