In an interview for the Polish news outlet onet.pl, Russian political scientist Andrey Piontkovsky was asked to respond to Lukashenko's surprise statement that Russia and Ukraine "do not understand what they are fighting for" and should agree to a ceasefire.
Piontkovsky said that this kind of radical statement, undermining the purpose of Russia's attack on Ukraine, must have been agreed on beforehand with Moscow. His inference is that Russia is preparing the ground for some kind of "honourable capitulation".
Piontkovsky also invoked recent satellite photography showing that Russia is building fortifications along existing frontlines, suggesting Putin may have given up, for the time being at least, on gaining new territory.
The Russian political scientist also interpreted Russia's nuclear threats as a sign of desperation that is consistent with a sense of imminent defeat.
(Andrey Piontkovsky is a Russian political scientist who left Russia for the USA in 2016, following criminal charges in Russia for articles critical of the Putin regime. He is regularly consulted on Russian affairs by the Polish press.)
Source: onet.pl
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