Cnn
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The third year Stanislav Martynyuk looks extremely proud in his school photo. Hands folded on his desk; His eyes framed by glasses that make him look like a serious – and adorable – scholar of 8 years.
It was this image of Stanislav – alongside similar clichés by her sister Tamara, 12, and her novel brother, 17 years old – who was exhibited during a fortune memorial in their school in Korostyshiv and shared on social networks after the death of the three brothers and sisters when a Russian strike hit their house during the weekend.
The trio was part of at least 14 civilians killed this weekend in the last wave of Moscow Climbing of air assaults Against Ukrainian cities.
Analysts claim that the brutal campaign is part of a deliberate strategy of Russia conceived to create an impression that it has the upper hand in the conflict, undermines the morale of Ukraine and exerts more pressure on the Western allies of kyiv.
Russia has started Intensification of airborne attacks Against Ukraine last fall, after having succeeded in intensifying the interior production of its own version of Iranian manufacturing Shahed drones, its most frequently used drone.
But the frequency and scale of these strikes increased again in January, after US President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Five of the biggest drone attacks in Russia have all been launched since then. Four of the five came in the past 10 days, according to a count compiled by CNN.
Trump ended the war in Ukraine, one of his priorities – having declared during the electoral campaign that he would end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office.
But despite the promises, Trump seems to have eagerly impatient with Moscow and Kyiv. It was a topping between threatening to punish Russia with more sanctions if it does not register for a cease-fire proposal and suggesting that it could completely move away from the issue.
During the weekend, after Russia launched its greatest air assault on Ukraine since the start of the war, Trump said on social networks that Putin “Has gone absolutely crazy!” Before telling journalists that he was “not satisfied with what Putin does”.
But Trump also criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for suggesting that “America’s silence” encourages Putin to continue his assault. He said that Zelensky does not help his country because “everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it’s better to stop.”
Analysts of the Institute for the Study of War, a conflict instructor based in the United States, said that the brutal air campaign of Russia was part of the strategy aimed at creating the illusion that it wins the war, in an “effort to degrade Ukrainian morale and convince the West that a Russian victory in Ukrain is inevitable and that the support of Ukraine is futile”.
Putin knows that the only way in which Russia could win the war in Ukraine as soon as it is that if the Western allies of Ukraine, the American chief among them, stop supporting kyiv in his war efforts.
European allies in Ukraine have increased in cases of Sabotage, cyber-incidents and criminal fire attacks Linée to Russia, an attempted Moscow to make more pressure on governments adapted to Kyiv by trying to show their voters that kyiv support has a cost.
At the same time, Putin successfully blocks the cease-fire talks offered by Trump-while trying to appear cooperative and change the blame on kyiv.
Instead of immediately refusing Trump’s cease-fire proposal, the Russian president has made new requests and blamed Kyiv for not having accepted them.
When he was given an ultimatum, Putin ignored it and called for direct talks between Ukraine and Russia – something that Trump immediately approved, blinding the other Western allies of Ukraine.
Trump repeatedly said that he did not want American military assistance to kyiv to continue as it was. Earlier this year, the United States briefly suspended Ukraine assistance expeditions on Trump’s disagreement with Zelensky. Although the aid was restored, the incident gave Putin a clear indication that Trump is willing to abandon Ukraine.
Trump also clearly said he thought Ukraine was on backfoot. He even told Zelensky that he had “no cards” during the controversy Oval office meeting In February, trying to put pressure on the Ukrainian chief in negotiations.
But while Russia has air superiority over Ukraine, which allows Moscow to terrorize the Ukrainian population daily, it is far from “winning” war.
Russia’s leading analyst Mark Galeotti previously told CNN that the situation on the ground in Ukraine was better described as the loss of both parties. “The thing is that Ukrainians lose faster,” he said.
When Russia launched its Ukraine -free unrealing invasion in February 2022, the Kremlin should resume the country in a few days.
This did not happen because Ukraine has set up a surprisingly solid defense. And as Western support in kyiv increased, Ukraine was able to repel and recover large area of territory that were seized by Russia during the initial invasion.
The front line in Ukraine has not changed significantly since the Ukrainian forces released the southern city of Kherson in November 2023. Russia has advanced in certain areas along the front line, but it was not able to unravel or resume a big city.
However, the consequences of Russian strikes were horrible. At least 209 civilians were killed across Ukraine last month, last month since September 2024, according to the United Nations Human Rights Supervision Mission in Ukraine.
It was a particularly deadly month for Ukrainian children – the worst since June 2022. In addition to 19 who were killed, 78 were injured.
May was just as terrifying for Ukrainian civilians. The Minister of the Interior, Ihor Klymenko, said on Telegram that weekend attacks showed once again that Russia’s goal was “fear and death”.
Klymenko said the parents of the three Martynyuk children killed had been injured during the strike, their mother.
A novel, the oldest child, was only a few days old to graduate, the school where the three were present said in a press release.
Tamara teacher, Oleh Hodovaniuk, said CNN on Monday was a very difficult day for school.
Signs of war were all around them. School windows were blown away by the explosions pressure wave. A commemorative point at the entrance to the school has been flooded with flowers and stuffed toys.
Hodovaniuk said the news had shocked the community to her heart and that some children were so upset that they were unable to come to school and participate in the memorial.
“No one has coordinated this, but most of the school came to wear black,” he said. “Tamara behaved very well and modest, like all the children in her family.”
