The aggressor country of russia has used the Oreshnik missile against Ukraine for the second time to intimidate the West and prevent Europe and the US from providing security guarantees to Kyiv.
This is stated in an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) for January 9, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
Analysts believe that russia deliberately chose the Lviv Region for the Oreshnik strike on January 9 to show the West its "capabilities". ISW calls the attack part of "russian nuclear weapons rattling", which was intended to intimidate Western countries so that they do not deploy troops in Ukraine.
The "Coalition of the Willing" at a meeting in Paris on January 6 agreed to send its military after the ceasefire as part of security guarantees for Ukraine, ISW reminds. At the same time, the Kremlin has repeatedly stated that such Western security guarantees would be "unacceptable" for russia and that foreign troops would be "legitimate" targets for russian occupiers.
The use of the Oreshnik, which can carry a nuclear warhead, against the Lviv Region is a threat from a coalition of the willing and an attempt to deter the deployment of foreign troops, which would likely take place in Western Ukraine, analysts emphasize.
ISW also recalls that for the first time, russian dictator vladimir putin used the Oreshnik demonstratively against Ukraine in November 2024 in response to Ukrainian strikes with ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles. At that time, the Kremlin also tried to intimidate the West and restrain military aid to Ukraine.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on the night of January 9, russia attacked the Lviv Region with ballistic missiles from the Kapustin Yar test site; the hit damaged infrastructure, and the gas supply to the region was suspended due to the shock wave.
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