This Is a Hallmark of a War of Attrition: Expert on Assassination Attempts Against Military Leaders and Elites

Political analyst Ruslan Bortnik said that assassination attempts targeting political elites and military leaders have become a traditional instrument of the war of attrition between Ukraine and Russia, and that the case involving General Chuyko represents a new stage in this trend, Politeka reports.

He made these remarks on his blog.

According to the expert, acts of sabotage and assassination attempts against prominent public figures and military commanders had already been taking place after 2014, but following the start of the full-scale war, such incidents intensified significantly. He also recalled attacks on Russian generals using explosive devices concealed in scooters and other objects, as well as assassination attempts against Ukrainian public figures, including Parubiy and Farion.

“The current situation involving Chuyko marks a new phase of assassination attempts and sabotage attacks targeting leaders, particularly military leaders. This activity has intensified. Most likely, both Russia and Ukraine will attempt further operations of this kind because the reputation of the intelligence services and the institutions responsible for security—which form the backbone of the state—is at stake. Therefore, I believe these types of assassination attempts will continue to intensify,” Ruslan Bortnik explained.

According to him, the objective of such attacks is to eliminate specific individuals who may play a decisive role in military operations or intelligence activities. In addition, the expert argued, they are intended to intimidate political and military elites: if a general can be assassinated today, a politician could be targeted next, followed by a president. In his view, this is meant to pressure elites into abandoning their wartime objectives and accepting peace terms. He added that such attacks also send a message to society that, regardless of how strong people believe their country to be or how often they are told it is winning the war, no one among the country's elite is beyond reach.

“Unfortunately, I think this will continue. It is a defining characteristic of a war of attrition. You rarely see this in short wars. In a war of attrition, which has effectively been ongoing between Ukraine and Russia since 2014, this has become a very traditional instrument,” Ruslan Bortnik concluded.