Kathrine Frich
The choice of words directly mirrors earlier threats made by his boss in Moscow.
War stories often turn on who gets to frame the narrative when the dust settles.
When weapons start flying across borders, blaming the other side is the oldest trick in the political playbook.
That public blame game has just taken another bizarre turn in Eastern Europe.
Flipping the narrative
The Kremlin is once again attempting to rewrite the history of its ongoing war. Official voices in Moscow are working hard to frame their latest violent surge as nothing more than self-defense.
Dmitry Peskov, the primary spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, made the bold claim during a recent press briefing. He insisted that Russian forces only expanded their list of targets after Ukrainian forces pushed them to act.
“The Russian Federation didn’t attack everything. We started doing this after the Ukrainians themselves opened Pandora’s box,” Peskov said.
According to Ukrainian news agency UNIAN cited by O2, Peskov offered no concrete evidence to back up his statement. The choice of words directly mirrors earlier threats made by his boss in Moscow.
Blaming the victim
Back on August 22, Vladimir Putin laid the groundwork for this line of defense during an interview with reporter Pavel Zarubin. The Russian leader accused Kyiv of targeting infrastructure inside Russia first.
“The Kiev regime set itself the goal of harming our economy. And what did it do? It opened this Pandora’s box itself. Well, wait for appropriate measures that will affect the most vulnerable sectors of the economy,” Putin said.
The narrative allows the Kremlin to portray massive military strikes as a reluctant reaction rather than deliberate aggression. That framing sits in sharp contrast with what is actually happening on the ground.
Moscow has dramatically scaled up its production of low-cost weaponry like Shahed drones and Banderol missiles. These cheap assets allow Russian forces to launch relentless strikes far beyond the front lines.
Striking from afar
As UNIAN reported, these continuous drone swarms present a massive test for Ukrainian air defenses. The relentless volume of incoming fire stretches resources thin across the country.
The reality of these attacks goes far beyond military infrastructure. Recent strikes have hit everyday civilian spots and places where ordinary residents gather.
Despite the official claims from Moscow, the devastating toll on regular people continues to rise every day.
Sources: UNIAN, o2.pl
