Attack on Russian city could put Ukraine in a weak negotiating position

According to TASS news agency on December 22, retired US Armed Forces Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis said that attacks on Russian cities far from the front line could negatively affect Ukraine's position in possible future negotiations.

Lt. Col. Davis said that actions by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, such as the recent attack on the Russian city of Kazan, “have no significant military effect, but they anger the Russian people and the Russian leadership.”

“Such attacks only strengthen Russia’s resolve, which could further complicate reaching a peace agreement,” he said.

Expert Davis believes that Kiev's desire to cause maximum damage to Moscow, despite limited resources, has the "opposite" effect of possibly leading to an escalation of the conflict.

Previously, on December 21, after Russia's attack on Kazan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky affirmed that he would continue to attack deep into Russian territory, using drones and missiles, increasingly of Ukrainian-made types, especially targeting Russian military bases and military infrastructure.

Several Ukrainian drones crashed into high-rise buildings in Kazan, but caused no casualties, according to local officials. Kazan is the capital of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, about 1,400km from the Russia-Ukraine border.

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) has announced the imposition of temporary restrictions at Kazan airport.

Ukraine is stepping up cross-border attacks to exert pressure amid Russia's advances on the Ukrainian battlefield, especially in the Donbass region in the east of the country.