Ukraine's recent drone strikes deep within Russian territory could escalate the conflict, as Russia could come to the conclusion that the strikes were done with the help of the United States.
The drone strikes conducted by Ukraine were supposedly in retaliation for Russian strikes targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure. (Related: Ukrainian drones strike airbases inside Russia as Kremlin warns NATO of potential nuclear escalation.)
On Monday, Dec. 5, Ukrainian drones attacked two military airbases – the Engels-2 Air Force Base and the Dyagilevo air base. The bases were reportedly targeted because they house Tu-95 and Tu-60 bombers, which Russia has been using to launch air strikes against Ukrainian targets.
The Engels-2 attack resulted in several bomber planes being damaged. The Dyagilevo attack caused an oil truck to explode, killing three Russian soldiers and injuring another five. The Dyagilevo base is less than 150 miles from Moscow.
The next day, a third Russian air base – the Kursk-Khalino base – was targeted by a Ukrainian drone. The base is around 60 miles north of the Ukrainian border and 120 miles north of the major Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. City officials released pictures of black smoke above the Kursk Vostochny Airport, which also includes the Kursk-Khalino air base. The governor of the region confirmed that an oil storage tank was targeted and had gone up in flames. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
Ukraine never publicly claimed responsibility for drone strikes and other attacks in Russia and it still has not claimed any role in the most recent strikes.
If officials in Kyiv believed the drone strikes would damage Russia's ability to conduct air raids against Ukraine, they were mistaken.
Following the attacks on Engels-2 and Dyagilevo, the Kremlin responded with what it called a "massive strike on Ukraine's military control system." Ukrainian officials claim Russian strategic bombers targeted the country's energy infrastructure – which the Kremlin claims it has military justification for targeting.
In conjunction with the air strikes, Russian ground forces in southern and eastern Ukraine continued to strike Ukrainian military targets with artillery.
Russia could implicate America in Ukrainian drone strikes
Russia has pinned the blame on these attacks and the deaths and damage they caused squarely on the shoulders of Ukraine. However, Harley Schlanger of the LaRouche Organization warned that the Kremlin may consider extending responsibility for these attacks to the United States.
"The question is, what if they conclude that these attacks were designed and organized and carried out by the United States or with U.S. aid?" asks Schlanger. "This would be a significant escalation, as the Russians have said they would consider any attacks on their sovereign territory as a potential existential threat."
Multiple U.S. officials have denied responsibility for the attacks, saying that it does not encourage nor enable Ukraine to conduct military actions within Russia.
"We are not enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders," said Department of State spokesperson Ned Price. "Everything we are doing, everything the world is doing to support Ukraine, is in support of Ukraine's independence, its sovereignty, its territorial integrity. We are providing Ukraine with what it needs to use on its sovereign territory, on Ukrainian soil, to take on Russian aggressors."
But Russian officials are not accepting Washington's refusal to take responsibility for Ukrainian strikes.
"You shouldn't say that the U.S. and NATO aren't taking part in this war. You are directly participating in it," said Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov. "And not just by providing weapons, but also by training personnel. You are training their military on your territory, on the territories of Britain, Germany, Italy and other countries."
Find the latest news regarding Russia's special military operation in Ukraine at UkraineWitness.com.
Watch this video featuring Harley Schlanger of the LaRouche Organization discussing in detail the dire implications of Ukraine escalating the conflict by conducting strikes deep within Russia.
This video is from the Sanivan channel on Brighteon.com.
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