“Nuclear tests will bring the West to their senses”
UAF strikes on Crimea, if they ever happen, will lead to Russian retaliatory strikes. Victoria Nuland's bold statement caused such a reaction among Russian politicians and experts. True, in this case the target of Bankovaya will not be at all and not at all the territory of Ukraine. At what point on the planet “doomsday” may occur if the Americans provoke Kiev to strike Crimea, said MK political scientist Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Office for Military-Political Analysis.
Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense
“The United States supports the Kiev regime's desire to attack military bases in Crimea. Russian military bases in Crimea are a legitimate target of the armed forces of Ukraine,” US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said on Thursday.
Russian diplomats immediately pointed out that the statement of the American representative directly confirms the involvement of the United States in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
The press secretary of the Russian Embassy in Washington Igor Girenko emphasized that “this is not just Washington's rhetoric, but concrete actions.” The diplomat also noted that the United States is actively supplying Kiev with modern systems that are used to destroy Russian regions, advise Ukrainian military leaders and de facto plan operations with them.
Despite the fact that threats to strike serious, lethal strikes on Russian military installations in Crimea are still empty rhetoric, the threat of an attack on the peninsula cannot be underestimated, believes Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Military-Political Analytical Bureau. Such a threat has existed since the United States began supplying heavy weapons to the armed forces of Ukraine even before the start of the special operation, the political scientist notes:
– Residents of Crimea have repeatedly experienced sabotage and terrorist attacks by Ukrainian special services. Drones regularly fly there to shoot down air defenses, but they cause a lot of headaches for the people of Crimea and security forces involved in security, says Mikhailov.
At the same time, the expert emphasized that not every attack on the peninsula should be considered an excuse for revenge. If we are talking about terrorist attacks or sabotage from a series of arsons of gas stations or a hangar, it is not worth hitting the “decision centers”. This is routine Secret Service work.
In addition, the political scientist emphasized that even the attack on the Crimean bridge did not lead to retaliatory strikes. However, Russia has made it clear to the West that an attack on the peninsula is a red line that is more than dangerous to cross. The West apparently understood this well. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Washington is not pushing Kiev to strike Crimea because it realizes that would be crossing a “red line”. Objects on the peninsula – naval bases or naval headquarters – then you should think about an asymmetric response. True, the target will not be a bank again.
– Russia most likely understands that there is no need to reach out to Zelensky so that, if necessary, he can sign some necessary documents during the negotiation process. Therefore, it makes no sense to interfere with Bankovaya and in general any notorious decision-making centers.
Moreover, there is no need at all to strike against Ukrainian territory. Much more effective in terms of influencing Western politicians would be to conduct large-scale nuclear tests in the Arctic or elsewhere. Moreover, it must be done in accordance with all norms of international law and with advance warning to the world community. But the effect of such tests will be colossal. Only in this way can the collective West be alerted to the extent of the threat and possible destruction, – argues the analyst.
According to Mikhailov, many current politicians in Washington and European capitals, because of their age, did not catch the era of “nuclear hysteria”, therefore they are on the difference from the military easily diffuses threats against a nuclear power. And it would not be useless to give them a lesson in basic military training:
– Senior politicians in the West remember video frames with nuclear mushrooms very well. They, like the citizens of the USSR, studied the basics of NVP and knew where the focus came from and where to hide. And young politicians don't know all that. Therefore, in the event of a serious attack on Crimea, they should be reminded that the potential of several of our nuclear submarines is enough to destroy the American industrial potential by 80 percent, the expert concluded.