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Washington Attacks Key Element of Russia’s Nuclear Umbrella Threatening Entire Global Nuclear Security Architecture, by Mike Whitney

26-5-2024 < UNZ 44 1227 words
 


Washington’s “deep involvement in the armed conflict and total control over Kiev’s military planning means that the claims that the US does not know about Ukrainian plans to strike Russia’s missile defense system can be discarded.” Russian Senator Dmitry Rogozin

The Biden administration, using its proxy forces in Ukraine, launched an unprecedented attack on “a key element of Russia’s nuclear umbrella” on Thursday effectively blinding the Russian military from detecting incoming nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. “Satellite imagery confirms” that multiple drones severely damaged “a Russian strategic early warning radar site in the southwestern end of the country” leaving Moscow more vulnerable to enemy attack. The western media has largely blacked-out any coverage of the incident which should have been presented in headlines across the country. According to Russian nuclear doctrine, any attack on Russia’s essential nuclear first-alert system provides a justification for nuclear retaliation. Given the gravity of the situation we must assume that Washington’s frustration with Ukraine’s performance on the battlefield has precipitated a dramatic change in policy that includes high-risk provocations aimed at triggering an overreaction that leads to direct NATO intervention. Clearly, the Biden administration has decided that it cannot prevail in Ukraine absent NATO involvement. To that end, the US—via its proxies in Ukraine—will continue to launch increasingly lethal attacks on Russian territory forcing Moscow to respond in kind. This is from an article at The Warzone:



Satellite imagery confirms a Russian strategic early warning radar site in the southwestern end of the country was substantially damaged in a reported Ukrainian drone attack earlier this week. This looks to be a first-of-its-kind attack on a site linked to Russia’s general strategic defense. As such, it points to a new and worrisome dimension to the conflict, especially when it comes to the potential use of nuclear weapons….


(Satellite imagery) shows severe damage to both structures housing the Voronezh-DMs at Armavir. There is also clear evidence of multiple hits on the radar buildings. …(The) radar arrays are generally very sensitive and fragile systems, and even relatively limited damage can result in a “mission kill,” rendering them inoperable for an extended period of time….


Since receiving a new tranche of ATACMS ( Army Tactical Missile System) in secret earlier this year, the Ukrainian armed forces have been using those weapons to good effect against Russian air bases, air defense nodes, and other targets. The latest batch of ATACMS are also longer-range versions than had previously been delivered to Ukraine’s military, which have allowed them to hold more targets at risk….


The two Voronezh-DMs at the facility are a key part of Russia’s larger strategic early warning network and their loss, even temporarily, could only degrade the country’s ability to detect incoming nuclear threats. There are also concerns about how this could impact the ability of Russia’s overall strategic warning network to evaluate potential threats and eliminate false positives due to possible loss of overlapping coverage in certain areas. Strike On Russian Strategic Early Warning Radar Site Is A Big Deal, The Warzone


We should assume that the plan to strike the facility was concocted and authorized at the highest level of government, perhaps, President Biden himself. Certainly, no low-ranking officer would risk his own career and possible court martial on a venture so audacious and potentially catastrophic. Also, the fact that the media has largely swept this blockbuster story under the rug suggests that corporate journalists are, once again, colluding with government officials to prevent Washington’s transgressions from being revealed to the public. Aside from slandering any and all opponents of US foreign policy, the media’s primary duty is concealing the crimes of the state.(which are too numerous to count.) Here’s more from The Warzone:



Russia’s early warning network is part of the country’s broader nuclear deterrent posture.


“The conditions specifying the possibility of nuclear weapons use by the Russian Federation” include any “attack by [an] adversary against critical governmental or military sites of the Russian Federation, disruption of which would undermine nuclear forces response actions,” according to the Basic Principles of State Policy of the Russian Federation on Nuclear Deterrence the Kremlin put out two years ago.


All of this follows the start of tactical nuclear drills by Russian forces in the country’s Southern Military District, which borders Ukraine, on Tuesday. Strike On Russian Strategic Early Warning Radar Site Is A Big Deal, The Warzone


The attack on a critical Russian nuclear defense facility—that could serve as a pretext for a nuclear exchange—shows that we have entered a new and more dangerous phase of Washington’s war on Russia. It’s clear that the public debate concerning the use of long-range missiles to strike deep into Russian territory, is largely a hoax intended to convince the American people that the matter will be decided by their elected representatives after an exhaustive debate. But it won’t be. As we can see, the train has already left the station. The decision to provoke a war with Russia has already been made, and that policy is being implemented as we speak.


It’s also worth noting (as one analyst said)



It’s not like Ukraine bought American long-range missiles and the US has restricted their use. The CIA tells Zelensky to demand American missiles provided at no cost, shipped to Ukraine by the USA, prepared and fired by American contractors using intel provided by the CIA to hit targets in Russia that have little involvement in the war.


In short—despite the illusion of Ukrainian “proxies”—these attacks on Russia are 100% American concocted, enabled and implemented. The culpability is Washington’s alone and the Russians know it. This is from RT:



The US is directly responsible for a Ukrainian strike on a key element of Russia’s nuclear umbrella, Senator Dmitry Rogozin said, warning that such attacks could lead to the collapse of the entire global nuclear security architecture…Rogozin suggested that it was extremely unlikely that the strike, which Ukrainian media reported involved several drones, was carried out at Kiev’s sole initiative and without US involvement…


“the US has commissioned a crime by hiring an irresponsible bandit” to attack Russia’s early warning system, the official said, apparently referring to Vladimir Zelensky. Rogozin claimed that Washington’s “deep involvement in the armed conflict and total control over Kiev’s military planning means that the claim that the US does not know about Ukrainian plans to strike Russia’s missile defense system can be discarded.”


Thus, we stand not on the precipice, but on the very edge… If such enemy actions are not stopped, an irreversible collapse of the strategic security of nuclear powers will begin. Ukraine attacked key element of Russia’s nuclear umbrella — Russian senator, RT


Russian President Vladimir Putin once described the United States as “A madman with a knife.” This latest incident helps to verify that claim.


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