Putin outlines next step in escalation

Ukrainian anti-aircraft weapon. (via RT News)

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin yesterday explained how he can retaliate against the United States for supplying Ukraine with weapons to attack the Russian homeland.

The next step won’t be to start a full-scale war against NATO nor to use tactical nuclear weapons, although Russia has not ruled out either one in extreme circumstances.

Instead Russia will arm nations and groups that are attacking U.S. bases and forces.

If the USA can wage proxy wars, so can Russia. Tit for tat.

Putin didn’t specify what he had in mind to arm, but the Houthis in Yemen have successfully attacked U.S. shipping and Shiite militias have attacked U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq.  U.S. forces are also engaged in low-level conflicts with radical extremist Muslim groups in Africa.

Russia could also begin or step up arms shipments to nations on the U.S. enemies list, such as Iran, Syria, North Korea and Venezuela.

U.S. military supremacy is based on having the world’s largest and most powerful Air Force and Navy.  But aircraft and surface ships are vulnerable to attack from long-range missiles, of which Russia is the leading producer.  By providing Russia’s superior military technology to nations and groups hostile to the U.S. and its allies, Russia can neutralize the U.S. advantage.

It would be a tragedy if the proxy war in Ukraine is followed by more proxy wars.

On the other hand, a war against the global U.S. empire of military bases might possibly prove to be a good thing for the USA, just as U.S.-led sanctions against Russia are proving to be a good thing for Russia.

Cutting off Western trade with Russia enabled Russia to grow its home industries and motivated it to find new markets, leaving it stronger than before.

Likewise, forcing U.S. leaders to give up on dominating the world militarily might result in them concentrating on rebuilding U.S. economic strength and seeing to the wellbeing of the American people.  One can hope.

∞∞∞

Here are Putin’s words as reported by RT News:

Russia is considering “asymmetric” measures against Kiev’s sponsors due to Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weapons against its territory, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. 

The Russian leader’s remarks came at a meeting with heads of international news agencies on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

“We have no illusions in this regard,” Putin added, repeating his prior comments that Ukrainian troops might be pulling the trigger but the US and its allies are providing the intelligence and targeting information.

Russia will respond by boosting air defenses and destroying these missiles, Putin said. 

“Secondly, if someone deems it possible to supply such weapons to the war zone, to strike our territory… why shouldn’t we supply similar weapons to those regions of the world, where they will be used against sensitive sites of these countries?” the Russian president added. “We can respond asymmetrically. We will give it a thought.”

“If the West continues to escalate, such actions “will completely destroy international relations and undermine international security,”  Putin noted.

“If we see that these countries are being drawn into a war against us, and this is their direct participation in the war against Russia, then we reserve the right to act in a similar way. This is a recipe for very serious problems,” he warned.

Putin only said Russia was considering such a move, but I don’t think he would say such a thing unless the decision has already been made and maybe has already been implemented.  He also denied any intention to attack NATO.

Putin was asked about NATO’s preparations to defend from a Russian “invasion.”

“Look, someone has imagined that Russia wants to attack NATO.  Have you gone completely insane?  Are you as thick as this table?  Who came up with this nonsense, this bulls**t?” Putin said.

The Russian president suggested that the “bulls**t” was in the service of deceiving the Western public, urging them to arm themselves and send more weapons to Ukraine.

“Why is this being done, really? To maintain their own position of greatness, that’s why. There’s nothing to these scary stories, intended for the townsfolk in Germany and France and elsewhere in Europe,” Putin explained. “In Ukraine, we’re just protecting ourselves.”

“Don’t make up things and then form opinions about Russia on the basis of them,” he added. “You only hurt yourselves this way.”

But Putin did not rule out the use of nuclear weapons.  The following is from Al Jazeera.

When asked about the prospect of using Russia’s nuclear arsenal, the president said it was not out of the question.

“For some reason, the West believes that Russia will never use it,” Putin responded, pointing towards the country’s 2020 nuclear doctrine.

It authorises the Russian government to consider nuclear options if a weapon of mass destruction is used against the country or if “the very existence of the state is put under threat”.

“We have a nuclear doctrine. Look what it says. If someone’s actions threaten our sovereignty and territorial integrity, we consider it possible for us to use all means at our disposal. This should not be taken lightly, superficially.”

Fortunately the United States and its allies have not yet done anything to actually threaten the existence of the Russian state.  We would be wise not to do so.

You may wonder why I spend so much time writing about the Ukraine crisis, when there is so much else going on in the world.  My reason is that I think the United States cannot solve any of its other problems so long as we are committed to continuing this war, and I also think the U.S. is setting itself up for a humiliating defeat.  This is in addition to the moral issue of forcing Ukrainians to sacrifice their lives in a war that we Americans are not willing (for good reason) to fight ourselves.

I am not pro-Putin.  I am pro-peace.  I do think Putin is an effective defender of his country’s vital interests, and I do not think those vital interests conflict with the vital interests of the United States.

LINKS

Putin outlines Russian response to long-range strikes by RT News.

“Bulls••t!” Putin on ‘plans’ to attack NATO by RT News.

Putin warns West over Ukraine armaments, nuclear arsenal by Al Jazeera.

The Cautious US Escalation Against Russia Is Developing Not Necessarily to US Advantage by Yves Smith for Naked Capitalism.  [Added 06/07/2024]. The comment thread is interesting, too.

Cuban Missile Crisis 2.0 by Gilbert Doctorow.  [Added 06/07/2024]

Tags: Nuclear War, Proxy War, Vladimir Putin