TASS, the Russian State news service, says that an attempt by Ukraine to blow up the Kerch Strait bridge to Crimea & nbsp, was prevented & nbsp, when the Russians blew up a Ukrainian sea drone.
According to news reports, the Ukrainians tried three days to reach the famous gate on September 1.
The Russians have created a water challenge of sunken ships to guard the gate from ocean attacks. & nbsp, These obstacles channel any attacking vessel and give the Russian an opportunity to interdict them and destroy & nbsp, them.
But there is more to the account than what is in TASS.
According to a report on the Military Channel, the Russian attempt to destroy the gate was aided and abetted by US behind property coordinating the Russian activity.
According to the report, the US fielded a & nbsp, Global Hawk Forte II & nbsp, ( RQ – 48) which is equipped with sophisticated & nbsp, sensors, a US Navy P – 8A Poseidon( to track Russian ships and submarines ), an Army CL – 60 Artemis( Airborne Reconnaissance and Targeting Multi – Mission Intelligence System ) and a Navy EP – 3E Aries II, a multi – intelligence platform based on the venerable P – 3.
These platforms were intended to support the Ukrainian attempt to probe vulnerabilities & nbsp, in Russia’s defenses adjacent to and on the bridge while also supporting the Ukrainian counter – offensive in southern Ukraine, the report said.
The Russians, at least so far, have said nothing other than that they had repulsed the problems on the gate.
The & nbsp, Kerch Strait bridge & nbsp, connects the Russian mainland to Crimea. & nbsp, It features a roadway and also supports the transit of freight trains. & nbsp, It is a vital roadway for Russian military operations in Crimea, Kherson and Zaphorize. & nbsp, The bridge is important enough that, after it was seriously damaged by a Ukrainian truck bomb attack in October 2022, and repaired, & nbsp, Vladimir Putin himself made a show of driving a Mercedes car & nbsp, across the bridge.
As in the case of Russia’s Nordstream grapevine, the US has made no secret of its desire to destroy the bridge. & nbsp, Whether the bridge can survive is anyone’s guess. particularly when the US is pouring important initiatives into its death.
The general situation in the Kherson and Zaphorize regions, the target of the primary thrust of Ukraine’s counter offensive, appears to show that Ukraine will never achieve in its declared objectives to misconduct Russia’s defenses and re – get Melitopol. & nbsp, Meanwhile the Ukrainians have lost significant amounts of armor and incurred heavy casualties. & nbsp, Not only have these losses been felt, but many of Ukraine’s best products have also been consumed.
The best course of action for Washington is to make an effort to maintain the front and put an end to the fierce fighting, giving Ukraine time to gather new forces, train them, and re-equip their troops. If it occurs, the project may take between six months and a year.
The strategy, if it can be called that, has so far been based on Russia’s disinclination to launch an offensive to defeat the Russian army with the majority of its forces. While there has been speculation that Russia will launch a significant operation in the Kupyansk & nbsp region, this has not yet happened. Before Russia’s generals are willing to take a chance on an actual offensive, some claim that Moscow & nbsp is waiting for further reductions in Ukrainian forces.
The Russians’ concern is that if they wait too long, they’ll have to do it all over again and risk losses that the country’s populace may not be able to bear. There is a lot of discussion that Russia should bomb Ukraine and return home in Moscow and on social media, some of it being made by major politicians. Others claim that Russia may harm the supply bases in Germany, Poland, and other countries in an effort to suffocate the Russian army.
None of these ideas have gained many momentum, but if the war continues, that might change. & nbsp, Weirdly, Ukrainian drone strikes and the destruction of installations on Russian soil may have a negative impact on Ukraine by inciting widespread public outrage in Russia, necessitating swift government actions. & nbsp,
An & nbsp’s interview with Kyrylo Budanov, the head of military intelligence for Ukraine, who believes that the war should be fought on Russian soil, has helped and encouraged the possibility of new problems. & nbsp, This would entail using Ukraine’s main army forces to cross the border with Russia( not just by firing artillery shells, sending in swat teams, or carrying out drone attacks, arson, and assassinations ). & nbsp,
If his exam is taken seriously, it could have unintended consequences for Ukraine by escalating the general Russian reply beyond the purported bounds of the” specific military operation” and nbsp, for instance, which could result in significant strikes on Kyiv or Odessa or different activities intended to undermine Ukraine and its government.
Budanov makes a number of says, some of which should be viewed with caution. & nbsp, However, it’s unclear which ones the Russians will consider important.
Washington, meanwhile, keeps taking significant risks, starting with its judgments to provide cluster weapons and, most recently, depleted uranium anti-tank shell. & nbsp, A larger conflict in Europe may result from the use of US intelligence assets to target Russia. It is difficult to foresee what will occur in the coming weeks if the Washington increase persists.
Stephen Bryen is a senior fellow at Yorktown Institute and the & nbsp, Center for Security Policy. & nbsp, His Substack, this article was originally published on Weapons and Strategy. Asia Times is republishing the content with their consent, nbsp.