The Ukraine, after a long period of constant retreats on the battlefields and in those of diplomacy, after a long period of attacks from its hitherto key ally, the United States, and an even longer one in which it has not recorded a significant communicative – or substantial – victory, today appears to be fighting back.

The characteristics of Ukraine’s attacks on Russian targets, apart from the tangible effect, namely the targeting of bombers hitting Kiev positions, have a clear communicator at the heart of the Kremlin, the, Vladimir Putin. The third strike since the start of the war on the Crimean bridge sets a tone for today, which wants Bolodimir Zelensky to have finally put aside American “wants” and to have recharted a path on which he will either walk alone or be joined by those who are willing and able.

The fact that the Ukrainian forces not only targeted and hit the bridge connecting the Russian mainland to the peninsula that Russia has annexed since 2014, but again have visuals that make the strike a “fact” rather than a “narrative”, shows that they have data on more than one way to get to the point, while also having the “edges” to ensure beyond the success of the mission and the perfect projection of the

And if the “spider’s web” hit targets up to 4,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border – specifically in Siberia – the way the Crimean bridge was hit today must raise even bigger questions about its readiness, and how “leak-proof” its power remains.

The Ukrainians, granted, are determined to develop the plans they have long been organizing, executing, and financing without currently showing any concern about Russian retaliation. What is also worth noting is that Ukraine today seems to have both overcome the shock of the American turnaround and itself to have put aside any efforts on Trump’s part to find a solution.

For Russia, which has again been subjected to the same level of blows from Ukrainian forces, the message from Kiev does not seem to be turning into anything more substantial. The Kremlin after each such Ukrainian success,s proceeds with the same strategy of investigations, “purging” of top military personnel and a series of internal reorganizations that touch internally on the hierarchy, but do not change at the end of the road both the outcome and Russia’s now proven high exposure to Ukrainian spying.

But the way Ukraine has been moving in the last 48 hours probably shows something else as well. Two years ago, Zelensky‘s announcements and the support with a large volume of weapons systems from Kiev’s allies yielded nothing of substance on the battlefields. Ukraine’s counter-offensive which was much “advertised” and communicatively supported by the West turned into a defeat and a boomerang for Kiev.

It is in this process that the Ukrainian army lost one of its most formidable units in Bakhmut. From that moment until today, both Kiev and Zelensky himself, with a different leader in the army, have learned and seem to have understood the painful lessons…

Ukraine today, with large investments in technology and especially in intelligence, is producing results that easily fit into the same paragraph as those produced by Israel’s intelligence services a few months ago in Lebanon and the massive hybrid attacks through the deadly bombers that Hezbollah got hold of.

Kyiv is creating without “fanfare,” a pattern that clearly shows its new path. A path on which it can and seems to have the potential to follow for a long time. At the same time, Washington, with the way it has managed the crisis, can hardly increase the pressure unilaterally on Ukraine any further, and Trump himself will have significant communication issues if he finally carries out the threat of a US retreat. In any case, the “spider’s web” that has been woven for months now seems to be only the beginning in the new phase of the Russian-Ukrainian war.