West should respond to Putin's missile blackmail by increasing aid to Ukraine - Polish expert
Robert Pszczel, a Polish political scientist, former NATO representative in Moscow, and now a leading researcher at the Warsaw-based Center for Eastern Studies (OSW), said this in a comment to Ukrinform.
"This was clearly a demonstrative message from the Russian regime, intended to blackmail Ukraine's partners and intimidate Ukrainians -- a challenging task, given how much they have already endured. Bomb threats and missile attacks, sadly, have become part of their daily reality. The response, as seen from Poland, should be guided by our interests and priorities, focusing on what we can do -- namely, increasing efforts to support Ukraine," Pszczel said.
According to him, this entails providing more arms, enhancing Ukraine’s military capabilities, and strengthening its deterrence and air defense systems.
According to the expert, the missile strike on Dnipro, using an experimental medium-range ballistic missile, was designed to showcase Russia's capabilities.
"There is nothing new here. The worst response would be to succumb to fear. Some do react that way, and it is a serious mistake. Fear will not solve the problem; it will only encourage Putin, who will see his tactics as effective, prompting further strikes and threats. The only language Moscow understands is the language of force," the Polish expert said.
He noted that Ukraine's partners must remember that Ukraine has a legitimate right to receive military assistance from its allies to defend itself against Russian aggression.
"We should not hesitate for a second to provide Ukraine with weapons and missiles so that it can defend itself, including the means for legitimate strikes on targets in Russia. This is not escalation -- Russia is the one escalating. And we must not succumb to this Russian disinformation, propaganda and blackmail with which the Kremlin is trying to hit not only Ukraine, but also us," Pszczel said.
