This article was originally published by Tyler Durden at ZeroHedge.
UK military drills involving HMS Defender in the Mediterranean, via The Drive.
In the days after the June 23 incident between the UK Royal Navy’s HMS Defender and a Russian patrol vessel and military aircraft near Crimea which resulted in warning shots fired from the Russian side, Putin asserted that a US reconnaissance plane had been nearby monitoring the dangerous close-call incident as it unfolded below.
Putin had cast the whole showdown as a “provocation” in which the US aircraft was present monitor Russia’s response to the UK vessel. Moscow’s position is that the UK vessel had ventured a full three kilometers into Russian territorial waters, which was met with a Su-24M dropping bombs in the Defender’s path along with the Russian patrol ship firing warning shots.
The latest charge on Sunday, however, has gone further, with Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov accusing Washington and the UK of essentially engineering the dangerously close military encounter in order to probe and test Russia’s defense of its borders.
“I think our intelligence certainly knows who made a decision there [in the situation with the British destroyer]. But certainly, I think such operations are basically planned by senior partners from overseas,” Peskov was cited in TASS as saying.
Given Putin’s prior words pointing the finger directly at Washington during his annual televised Q&A last month, this latest Kremlin statement is also no doubt a clear reference to the US (in terms of the provocative reference to “who made the decision here”). Presidential spokesman Peskov elaborated further in his Sunday statements that “in this case the destroyer was just a tool of provocation.”
These latest statements came with a warning, following the earlier summoning of the British ambassador and military attaché in Moscow quickly after the event. Peskov said Russia will continue to “respond harshly” to any future provocations in a similar way. This after UK officials expressed “surprise” at how rapidly the sea encounter devolved in a ‘live fire’ incident.
The Kremlin is now telling the West this is precisely what aggressors can expect and more:
“This is indeed so,” Peskov said, agreeing with a stance that in such situations Moscow will act harshly. He commented on a remark that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reaction “was very harsh and it is clear that no provocations should be repeated, the response will be in accordance with the charter that says – to sink.”
“Obviously, the reaction will be certainly harsh” the presidential spokesman stressed further.
Footage of Russian Black Sea Fleet and Border Service of the Federal Security Service's prevention of the breach of the Russian Federation state border committed by the UK Navy destroyer «Defender» pic.twitter.com/4VnAlMjK4Y
— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) June 23, 2021
The Sunday statements also shed more light on Putin’s decision to make public classified intelligence information in choosing to divulge that a US reconnaissance plane had been present throughout the ordeal. While the US side never confirmed it, and is not expected to given the presence of highly classified intelligence monitoring missions, Peskov elaborated that Putin made public information that proved it…
“And most importantly, as the president said, that information that the reconnaissance plane obtained is not that information that they sought to get, but this was that information that the Russian side believed it necessary to provide,” Peskov said.
The Kremlin spokesman also noted that during this Q&A session Putin revealed the number of the reconnaissance jet’s tail number. “Someone even joked [during the event] that the president will now give the first and last names of this plane’s pilots and even their address,” he said.
This actually wasn’t the first time the Kremlin threatened to sink any foreign military ship that breaches Russian waters.
My feeling is that this was staged. Why? Help me understand …
Britain acknowledges surprise at speed of Russian reaction to warship https://t.co/DMkPZMunrv
— NotImpressed #FBPE #FBPPR #FBPA (@randombigbird) June 25, 2021
Over a week ago the Associated Press reported of Moscow’s clear stance: “Russia is prepared to target intruding warships if they fail to heed warnings, a senior Russian diplomat declared Thursday after a Black Sea incident in which a British destroyer sailed near Crimea in an area that Russia claims as its territorial waters.”
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Think Russia means it or is just making idle threats?
Maybe we’ll be lucky and NATO will give them the chance to either stand behind their words or back down.
Of course, if NATO doesn’t give them the chance I’ll assume it means they believe the Russians will do it and are afraid of them and would rather run away than fight.
So let’s see who walks the way they talk and who is just a big talker that won’t.
I’m no fan of Russia, but NATO is a joke. Most European countries are part of NATO mainly because of US pressure. Polls there show its likely most Europeans want to end their participation in NATO.
The state of many European militaries is really pathetic anyway. Even Germany’s army probably couldn’t field more than 10,000 that are ready for immediate action. And due to year after year of chronic and severe underfunding, less than a third of their helicopters can fly, or tanks and military vehicles deployable. A 2019 report said even the individual soldier is poorly equipped with proper gear. It also has a severe shortage of officers and NCOs. The same general trend for their navy with ships and subs that are unable to deploy, and an air force with the majority of planes that aren’t able to fly; both of those branches are also undermanned. It appears they can’t even defend their borders from illegal immigration. Merkel and company did a hell of a job to their military. The icing on the cake is that Germany’s (and other European) military(s) are becoming even more “woke” than ours.
However, the US and GB are hell-bent on provoking Russia. Most of the other NATO members feel no particular threat from Russia, and resent the ongoing provocations conducted by the US and GB, that we keep stirring the pot. Many Europeans fear we are going to drag them into a war, or do something that will cause Russia to turn off the natural gas and other natural resources. Russia did conduct naval exercises close to Hawaii a few weeks ago, but they stayed strictly in international waters as the US monitored all that.
Contrary to our MSM, Russia is not going to attack Europe. What Americans are being fed is silly and naive. Only the deep state wants war with Russia. The reasons are as follows; Russia is too powerful to be bullied or intimidated and they cannot be forced to submit to global US hegemony, and Russia has the ability to stymie Israeli efforts to expand their hegemony in that region. There are entities that would love to see the two largest nations populated mostly of people of European heritage destroy each other. Another reason for the incessant anti-Russian propaganda campaigns and provocative actions is that Russia is rapidly re-Christianizing as a people, culture, and nation. Entities in the deep state hate this fact.
I did not Know that Russia owned the Black Sea
Hell of a choke point going under the bridge.
Well we sure don’t own the Black Sea. Can you locate it on a unmarked map? Whom is it that owns the Gulf of Mexico? The US is a paper tiger. If we had blows with Russia, it would go very poorly for us. Aircraft carriers are great when you are blowing the shit out of poor Afghani men, women, and children. Not so much however, if we were stupid enough to initiate a shooting match with Russia, China, or Iran. The Russians can sink our entire fleet at will. Anywhere it’s sailing in the world. Hopefully we won’t find out the hard way. As it is, the world is already suffering nuclear Armageddon – from the ungodly radiological catastrophe unleashed from Fukushima, Japan. It worsens by the day.
Make no mistake. You better believe this; the entire Fukushima site is becoming progressively more radioactive by the minute, and becoming untenable for humans to remain on site to keep the makeshift cooling apparatus functioning. Hundreds of millions of tons of extremely high level transuranic radioactive detritus is pouring through the site and directly into the Pacific Ocean on a constant basis. For over ten years now. Whom is it that “owns the Black Sea”? Sure as hell isn’t the US or UK. We can’t manufacture underwear, socks, widgets, or our own military uniforms. LOL. Super power? Not.
I don’t necessarily believe the narrative, which started with Hillary’s leaky server. But, I’ll pretend, for the sake of discussion.
If private, Russian, cyber attacks are tantamount to hot war against infrastructure, why couldn’t there be an immediate, surgical, counter attack, against those private interests, without lining up all the war machines, and without all the rhetorical saber rattling against the whole country of Russia.
Don’t even take credit for it.
The British ship entered Crimean waters so the Russians do control some of the Black Sea
The US/NATO fleet would be at a definite disadvantage here.
According to the Montreux Convention (still in effect), non Black Sea countries are limited in what type and how many warships are permitted in the Black Sea. Only 9 total foreign warships at one time. No foreign aircraft carriers. No ship larger than 10,000 tons. No guns larger than 4 inch. Only allowed to stay 21 days.
Black Sea country’s ships are not regulated to size, tonnage, number, or type of guns. I suppose this is why the British claim to be building a Ukrainian fleet of warships…to get around the treaty, since Ukraine is a Black Sea country.
Great Britain couldn’t build a doily.
Biden is already backing down on ransomware.
Putin will not be backing down on the Black Sea.
Not good for the US, or the US Navy.
I vote we put drooling pedo joe in a straitjacket and put him on the bow of the first ship selected to trespass on Russian territory. Soros can join him.