What Matters More to Putin? Russian Refineries or Striking Ukraine?

Ukraine has signaled that it is prepared to stop striking Russian energy infrastructure if Moscow agrees to halt attacks on Ukrainian cities and critical facilities. “The question is whether or not the Russians would consider the end to strikes against their oil and gas infrastructure worth that concession,” Stefan Korshak, Senior Defense Correspondent at Kyiv Post, told TVP World. JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. He noted that Kyiv would gain relief from what has become Russia’s most effective tool for inflicting pain on Ukraine: sustained attacks on civilian and economic targets. But in return, Russia might be able to return to exporting its oil and gas, and it “certainly needs money for war and for other purposes.” “But so far, the calculation of the Kremlin has been ‘no,’” Korshak said. “As far as the Kremlin is concerned, the better move for Russia is to simply attack as viciously and intensely as possible in hopes of creating a Ukrainian collapse.” Join TVP World’s Sally Jastrzębska and her guest as they explore whether an energy ceasefire could provide a path toward broader negotiations, how Ukrainian strikes have affected Russia’s war economy, and why the Kremlin still appears to believe that increasing pressure on civilians can deliver victory.