This could force Putin to stop the war: Diplomat names the most effective "sanction"

Several factors could force Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the war or at least agree to negotiations on Ukraine’s terms. One of the most effective is direct strikes against Russia’s war machine. This is the best "sanction" against the Russian Federation.

This opinion was expressed by Volodymyr Ogryzko, diplomat, Head of the Center for Russian Studies, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, in an interview with Glavred.

Ogryzko was asked what could truly compel Russia to end the war or at least sit down at the negotiating table under Ukraine’s conditions.

"In my opinion, we should talk about two factors here. I believe the best "sanction" is what recently happened at five Russian military airfields. This is exactly what we should be demonstrating every day and every night. The more strikes on Russia’s military machine, the quicker it will break down," the diplomat states confidently.

He notes that this is precisely why Ukraine urgently needs military support from its Western partners. According to him, such support would give Ukraine "one of the strongest arguments in its pocket."

"The second point is the production of our own weapons. And by the way, President Zelenskyy also mentioned that we could cover up to 40% of our own needs. If this is realized, it would become a powerful instrument of pressure on Moscow," the former foreign minister emphasized.

In this context, he highlighted that Ukraine is entering a new stage of weapons development — specifically, ballistic missiles. These have already undergone testing and have even been used in combat.

"If we can soon transition this program to industrial-scale production, and missile manufacturing proceeds quickly and at scale, then Russians in their swamps will soon understand what a boomerang really means," Ogryzko said.

Another factor for pressuring Putin, he added, is sanctions. The diplomat stressed that sanctions must be real and enforced, not riddled with loopholes.

"If sanctions are imposed on Russian oil, then let’s make sure not a single rusty tanker used by the Russians goes unnoticed. Because if we have beautiful statements on one side, and poor enforcement on the other, it undermines the whole idea of sanctions," the expert explained.