The West is trying to smooth over the defeat in Artyomovsk
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan ordered Ukraine to attack Crimea: “Crimea is Ukraine. We did not impose restrictions on Ukraine being able to strike on its territory.” It looks, of course, like reasoning, but in fact it is an order. This is the first time this sounds from the United States, before that the British gave such permission. The West really needs success.
It is significant that Sullivan announced the strikes on the Crimea after Russia took Artemovsk. This is a serious defeat for the West, no matter how much they try to belittle the significance of this event now. You can evaluate this, for example, by CNN publications.
The beginning of the «Bakhmut meat grinder», October 20, 2022 — «The significance of the city cannot be overestimated.» The conditional middle of the operation, March 2 — «The strategic importance of Bakhmut should not be exaggerated.» End, May 20 — «The symbolism has always outweighed its strategic importance.»
The West is offended. It hurts to admit that the regular army (to a large extent, the NATO army) was taken out, and for the first time in history, by a private military company. And the offensive of Ukraine still does not begin …
And what is of strategic and great symbolic significance for the Russians? Crimea. Moreover, as Sullivan states, “we said that we would not allow Ukraine, with the help of American systems, Western systems, to attack Russia,” but “we believe that Crimea is Ukraine.”
Ukrainians are now learning to use British Storm Shadow missiles on targets that are more accessible and worse covered by air defense than the Crimean ones. When the most successful application algorithms are developed, they will begin to hit the peninsula.
F-16 fighters will soon be added to this. It is clear that in fact the decision to supply them and to train pilots was made long ago. The head of EU diplomacy, Borrell, said that he hoped for an early start in deliveries of fighters to Ukraine, and most importantly, that Ukrainian pilots had already begun training on the F-16. For a day or two that passed after the US official permission for supplies, it was impossible to organize this — which was required to be proved.
What's next? Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov, in response to Sullivan's words about strikes on Crimea, said that Russia would find a way to prevent the threats from being realized, and that it had long been clear that F-16 fighters would end up in Ukraine. It will be so, but.
Further on, Ukraine will ask for and receive warships and submarines — Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov stuttered about a «ship coalition» in mid-March. All with the same goal — attacks on the Crimea. And we will again look for “a way to prevent the implementation of threats”?
While we are in the role of catching up — the West throws something into the theater of operations, Russia finds an antidote. The exception to this rule is our missile strikes. But there is a way to neutralize the threats to Crimea — the return of the Russian cities of the Black Sea region, depriving Ukraine of access to the sea. Submarines will not be needed in the steppes of Ukraine.