The Wizard of Oz promised magical solutions from behind his curtain; similarly, Putin is doing the same with the RS-26—his 'powerful' missile is nothing but a hollow scarecrow meant to frighten rather than to truly deliver. Just as Dorothy used a simple bucket of water to defeat the seemingly invincible Witch, Ukraine's resilience and Western support have proven that the 'mighty' Russian threats can be neutralized with sheer courage and determination.
Putin's
new missile threat is, once again, a noisy bark from behind the curtain—a lot
of thunder, but not much lightning. With a new warning of the RS-26
intercontinental ballistic missile being aimed at Kyiv, Russia wants the world,
especially Ukraine, to tremble. But is this the devastating blow it claims to
be, or is it simply another hollow scare tactic meant to intimidate and
distract? Like the Wizard in Oz, Putin seems to conjure powerful imagery with
fiery threats, but look a bit closer, and the illusions quickly begin to
unravel.
The
RS-26 missile—being portrayed as a phantom menace poised to cripple Ukraine’s
capital—is said to travel at five times the speed of sound. It sounds
impressive, but let's not forget that it's still a tool of war, just like
countless others in the Russian arsenal. Weapons, after all, don't possess
magical powers; their efficiency depends on factors like precision, deployment,
and response. The RS-26 is no exception. Despite all the fanfare, the
Western-supplied missile defenses in Ukraine, such as the Patriot missile
systems, have proven to be an ongoing thorn in Russia's side, neutralizing many
threats launched by Moscow. The RS-26's alleged speed makes it challenging to
shoot down, but hardly impossible—military history is full of "unstoppable"
weapons that turned out to be anything but.
On
Wednesday, when Ukraine reportedly struck a command post in Kursk with British
Storm Shadow missiles and hit Bryansk with American ATACMS, it demonstrated
that Russia's so-called “untouchable” borders are anything but invincible.
Putin's retaliation talk seems to follow a well-worn script—threaten Kyiv in
response to Western weapon usage, posture with grandiose rhetoric, and paint
Ukraine as aggressors. This reaction is nothing new. And yet, despite all these
threats, daily life in Kyiv continues. People still stroll the streets with
headphones on, parents still escort their children to school, and baristas
still make lattes, unshaken by yet another promise of catastrophe.
History
tends to repeat itself, and this situation with Putin is no different from the
blustering moments of the Cold War when leaders threatened nuclear destruction
but were ultimately restrained by the looming reality of mutually assured
destruction. The RS-26 is being painted as a game-changer, but is it? The
Wizard of Oz promised powerful magic too, until Dorothy pulled back the
curtain. Putin’s supposed trump card doesn’t look very different. For all the
rhetoric, the missile is ultimately a piece of technology susceptible to human
error, countermeasures, and the complexities of real combat scenarios.
Take
a moment to think of Dorothy and the Wizard. When Dorothy confronted the
Wizard, expecting an all-powerful figure, she found an ordinary man hiding
behind levers and smoke. The “Wizard” was a construct of fear and illusion.
Putin’s new RS-26 missile is very much the same—a construct meant to terrify,
to make Kyiv bow down and the world panic. But Dorothy didn’t bow. Armed with
just a bucket of water, she defeated the real danger—the Wicked Witch of the
West. This act, simple yet brave, reminds us that courage and resourcefulness
have always been the best tools against intimidation and deceit. Ukraine, with
its resilience, is very much in Dorothy's shoes, armed not with buckets but
with international support and unwavering resolve.
Putin’s
military analyst Timur Syrlanov claims Ukrainians should be “trembling” at the
prospect of the RS-26 being deployed. But here's the reality: Ukrainians have
endured, resisted, and continued with their lives amid bombardments, sirens,
and daily threats since February 2022. The same missile system that is supposed
to instill fear is being rolled out while Kyiv residents navigate their
day-to-day, unfazed. There’s a proverb that says, “A barking dog never bites,”
and with each passing threat, it becomes clear that the RS-26 might be more
bark than bite—a desperate attempt to maintain an illusion of overwhelming
power, even as the cracks begin to show.
Consider
the embassies that closed in Kyiv following these threats—the United States,
Greece, Italy, Spain, all shuttering operations in anticipation of a “massive
airstrike.” The closures are a serious show of concern, but perhaps more
indicative of caution rather than genuine belief in an imminent apocalypse. The
very next day, life in Kyiv resumed. People rode the metro, children attended
school, and a girls' dance class even performed in a basement bomb shelter for
World Children’s Day. This resilience, this commitment to living despite the
threats, is the true power that no RS-26 or Iskander missile can shatter.
False
messages about 317 radio-controlled strike drones spread throughout Ukraine,
and people sheltered, anticipating another massive attack—only for it to turn
out to be a “false flag.” These tactics are meant to disorient and terrorize,
to keep the population in a state of perpetual anxiety. Yet, for a populace
that has faced nearly 1,370 air raid alerts in Kyiv alone, the resolve doesn’t
weaken. If anything, the Ukrainian spirit echoes the determination of
Dorothy—undaunted by the illusions and unbroken by the intimidation.
And
here we see the real story. Putin’s threats—whether they involve the RS-26,
Iskanders, or even the notion of a nuclear strike—are not unlike the Wizard’s
exaggerated threats from behind the curtain. They are designed to make the
target feel small, helpless, and overwhelmed. But the truth is, the RS-26
missile, touted as a harbinger of destruction, is just another piece on the
chessboard of warfare. It doesn’t wield any mythical power that can subjugate a
population whose spirit refuses to be broken.
The
RS-26 weighs 50 tons and carries a warhead supposedly three times larger than
the Iskander. These are numbers meant to impress, to frighten, to draw
headlines. But the history of warfare is filled with examples of seemingly
invincible weapons meeting their match. From the over-hyped V-2 rockets of
World War II, which were supposed to bring Britain to its knees, to the “super”
tanks that could be stopped by a resourceful foot soldier with a well-placed
grenade, it’s clear that weaponry alone doesn’t decide the outcome. It’s the
resilience of people, the ingenuity in response, and the steadfastness against
fear that decide outcomes.
In
this instance, Russia’s attempt to portray its new missile as an unmatched
weapon of terror seems to be more about image than reality. The RS-26, like
other much-hyped weapons, relies heavily on the narrative of invincibility.
When that narrative is stripped away—like pulling back the Wizard’s curtain—all
that remains is a missile, subject to all the same uncertainties and
vulnerabilities as any other. The irony is, by brandishing this missile, Putin
exposes his desperation more than his strength, akin to the Wizard using smoke
and mirrors while desperately hiding his true impotence.
It
is essential to understand the psychology behind Putin’s threats. The aim is
not merely military; it’s psychological warfare. The point is to create fear,
not just within Ukraine, but internationally. The moment countries like Italy,
Spain, and Greece close their embassies in Kyiv, Putin's objective is partly
achieved—he wants to make Ukraine look like a dangerous, uninhabitable place.
Yet, the Ukrainian people are demonstrating that their spirit cannot be so
easily crushed. Like Dorothy facing the imposing Wizard, Ukraine stands firm,
not allowing itself to be cowed by threats from behind a curtain.
There
is also a historical precedent that bears recalling here. During the Cuban
Missile Crisis in 1962, the world witnessed a dangerous standoff where nuclear
threats loomed large. Khrushchev’s posturing and Kennedy’s firm yet cautious
response showcased a game of chicken that almost led to global disaster. Yet,
the key takeaway is that both parties eventually recognized the futility of
escalating such threats to their logical conclusion. Today, Putin’s missile
threats echo Khrushchev’s; they are meant to project power rather than use it.
The bluff worked for Khrushchev—for a while—until the world saw through the
posturing, just as it is beginning to see through Putin’s own.
The
threat of a missile like the RS-26 may indeed be real. Its power to destroy
should not be trivialized, but let’s not pretend it has the power to break
Ukraine’s will. Russia’s missile tests and deployment threats are not
new—whether it’s the RS-26 or its other arsenal, the playbook remains the same:
escalate, intimidate, then threaten the direst consequences. And yet, with each
passing day, Ukraine remains standing, showing the resilience of a people who
have learned not to flinch when the Wizard’s voice booms over the speakers.
So
here we are, with Putin behind his curtain, throwing out threats like candy at
a parade, hoping to dazzle and terrify. But every time Kyiv wakes up to another
day, every time a dance class performs in a bomb shelter, or a barista makes a
latte while air raid sirens blare, it becomes clearer that Russia’s RS-26 is
not the ultimate end-all that the Kremlin would have us believe. It’s just
another page in the story, another lever pulled by a man behind a curtain who
wants to be seen as invincible but is slowly being exposed for what he truly
is—just another Wizard who’s all show and no substance.
And
maybe, just maybe, all it takes to bring down the illusions of a wizard is not
a bigger bomb or a faster missile but simply the courage to confront the show
for what it is, with nothing more than a bucket of water and an unwavering
spirit. Now wouldn’t that just make for the perfect ending? Too bad Putin
hasn’t read the script.
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