Vitaly Portnikov: We Have Entered A New Phase In The Russian-Ukrainian War
3- 15.06.2026, 16:10
- 4,476
Putin realized he wouldn't be able to invade Ukraine.
That is why the Russian dictator wants to render its territory uninhabitable. The well-known Ukrainian journalist Vitaly Portnikov spoke about this on his YouTube channel.
“A horrific symbol of today’s massive shelling of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities is the fire over the Lavra, the enemy’s strike against this great shrine,” he said. “At the center of this strike was the Assumption Cathedral, which had already been blown up on orders from Moscow back in 1941, at the height of World War II.
I am still part of that generation of Kyiv residents who remember the wasteland where the Assumption Cathedral once stood. That is why its restoration became not just a symbol of a return to the true architectural image of one of Kyiv’s most important landmarks. It was a triumph of justice, an opportunity to restore to the world what the Bolsheviks had destroyed.
Now yet another Moscow government is attempting to destroy the Assumption Cathedral, attempting to destroy the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, which has always been hated by the Moscow state as a symbol of defiance, as a great shrine that the churches of Vladimir-on-Klyazma and and Suzdal. And that is why they have always tried to ruin, destroy, and occupy this Lavra, to establish their own agents there. Now they have resorted to burning it down again.”
According to Vitaly Portnikov, “those at war with Ukraine have not a shred of humanity or respect—neither for great holy sites nor for people engaged in the noble work of salvation.”
“It is clear that we have entered a new phase in the Russian-Ukrainian war,” he said. "This is the stage of destroying major cities. The Russian leader is exploiting the shortage of missiles so that his ballistic arsenal can turn Ukrainian cities into complete ruins without hindrance. This is also a hope that such destruction will force the Ukrainian leadership to capitulate to Moscow, and that victory in the demographic war can be achieved.
Russia’s war against Ukraine also has an obvious demographic dimension. “If it is not possible to conquer the entire territory, then at the very least this territory must be depopulated, encouraging Ukrainians to leave for other countries, so that they abandon large cities and relocate from these cities to rural areas or to smaller towns.”
The only way to stop the destruction of Ukrainian cities, according to Portnikov, is “to respond to Russia in such a way that the Russian leadership feels compelled to halt this carefully planned campaign.” This is possible “by striking the Russian Federation itself—strikes that would truly deprive Russia of the resources it needs to continue the war.”
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