“The Situation – International”
Mölling on Ukraine escalation: “Putin is calculating the risks”
Vladimir Putin is coming under pressure by using Western missiles against targets in Russia. Now there is a threat of an unprecedented influence operation by Moscow in the German election campaign.
According to security expert Christian Mölling, the Russian use of a medium-range missile that is suspected to be capable of nuclear weapons against the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Wednesday of this week is within the rules established in this war. Putin justified the attack as a response to the decision by the USA, Great Britain and France to allow Ukraine to use long-range Western missiles against targets in the hinterland of the Russian province of Kursk. “He did the smallest thing possible, but the biggest thing possible to get himself back into the game,” Mölling said on Friday star– “The Situation – International”.
Ukraine’s recent attacks with Western-made ATACMS, Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles on Russian army facilities were effective. “We have hit a sore spot,” said Mölling, head of the “Future of Europe” program at the Bertelsmann Foundation. “Putin was in the forefront. His military apparatus may now be asking: What’s next?” Putin’s plan to expel Ukrainian troops from Russian territory before Donald Trump takes office in the White House as the new US President on January 10th is now in question. “If he doesn’t get Kursk back, then of course he has worse cards in his pocket when he has to go to the negotiating table.”
Nevertheless, Russia’s president reacted with the medium-range missile in such a way that he could be sure that he would avoid an incalculable escalation. He didn’t “press the red button in a rage,” but rather announced the launch to the Americans in advance via the established channels to minimize risk. “He stuck to this rule,” says Mölling. “This shows that the system around him works and calculates the risks.”
For the months up to the federal election on February 23, 2025, security expert Mölling expects massive attempts at Russian influence in Germany. “There are secret services that say this will be the dirtiest election campaign with the largest influence operations from outside that we have ever seen in Germany,” warns Mölling. Putin will do everything in his power to “turn up the temperature in the political discourse.” New sabotage actions such as the presumably intentional damage to several data cables in the Baltic Sea this week are also to be expected.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
