Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of 100 drones and 90 missiles at Ukraine over the last two days in response to Kyiv’s use of Western missiles to strike deeper into Moscow which is a way of inching towards a “frozen conflict” ahead of a second Donald Trump term, a leading expert told Daily Express US.

“The Russian army is pushing ahead at breakneck speeds to capture more territory before Trump takes office. It seems the Kremlin believes Trump will freeze the conflict, and whatever new territory Russia captures they get to keep,” said Sean McFate, a foreign policy expert and Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington D.C.-based think tank.

After outgoing US President Joe Biden authorized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to use US-made ATACMS missiles to strike Russia deeper and uphold the strategic promise made to Ukraine, McFate speculates that Putin is simply “waiting out Biden.”

After the Trump administration will probably “pick winners in two wars”, the alleged “frozen conflict” will suit Putin’s ulterior interests, McFate said.

“Putin is simply waiting out Biden to either invade Ukraine completely or replace Zelensky with a Moscow-backed puppet,” he explained, adding, “…at some point, he’s going to take over Ukraine in the next five or ten years. Whether he does that by invading where he puts a puppet in place after Zelensky, I don’t really know, but I think that’s why Putin is just waiting out Biden,” he said.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s power infrastructure- the second attack on Kyiv’s power grid in just two weeks- left millions without power.

Zelensky took to X to confirm that Moscow’s missile strikes were “deliberately aimed at civilian infrastructure.”

“The use of these cluster elements significantly complicates the work of our rescuers and power engineers in mitigating the damage, marking yet another vile escalation in Russia’s terrorist tactics,” he said.

“Every such attack underscores the urgent need for advanced air defense systems in Ukraine—systems that save lives rather than sitting idle in storage depots. This is especially critical during the winter months when protecting our energy infrastructure from Russia’s deliberate strikes is vital,” Zelensky added.

In a separate post, he said that he spoke with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and “expressed gratitude for the UK’s unwavering support, including the commitment to provide at least £3 billion annually for Ukraine’s needs.”

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Besides the US-made ATACMS missiles, Kyiv recently launched British-made Storm Shadow missiles into Russia prompting a harsh response from the Kremlin.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court investigated war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, and issued arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children’s rights. The warrant against Putin marked the first warrant issued against the leader of a UN Security Council permanent member state.

In June 2024, the ICC also issued arrest warrants against other Russian military officials accused of deliberately attacking civilians, namely Viktor Sokolov, Sergey Kobylash, Sergei Shoigu, and Valery Gerasimov.