Political analyst and serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Musiienko, has stated that shifting the war into the air domain will be decisive. According to him, Ukraine must intensify strikes against Russia in order to achieve a ceasefire, Politeka reports.
He shared these views on his blog.
According to the expert, Ukraine has already made a breakthrough in aerial warfare, as demonstrated by the expanding geography of strikes carried out by the Defense Forces on Russian territory. He recalled that Ukraine initially targeted only Russia's border regions, and at the time, few imagined that Ukrainian drones would eventually reach Omsk or be capable of striking the Moscow oil refinery. Meanwhile, as Ukraine continues to focus on strikes against occupied territories, Musiienko believes preparations are likely underway for more extensive attacks on Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Russia's maritime industrial infrastructure.
"The air campaign is decisive. That is now a fact. Air defense and repelling attacks account for 50% of success. Only 50%, not 100%. Why 50%? Because repelling attacks is defense, not offense. To impose your own rules and conditions on the enemy, you must conduct offensive operations. There is simply no alternative," Oleksandr Musiienko emphasized.
The same principle applies on the battlefield, he argued. If a military force remains permanently on the defensive, the enemy will continue launching mass infantry assaults, probing for weak points, and may achieve tactical gains. Therefore, counterattacks are also essential. In warfare, the expert maintained, it is not enough merely to repel enemy attacks and defend positions—deep strikes against the enemy constitute the other 50% of success.
"Ultimately, the air campaign will be defined not only by the ability to repel attacks but also by the ability to inflict strikes that exhaust the enemy faster than we ourselves become exhausted. We need strikes that create cascading effects in both the military sphere and the economy, ultimately forcing Putin to agree to a ceasefire. That is the objective," Oleksandr Musiienko concluded.
