NATO is increasingly talking about the risk of a direct clash with Russia, but they hope to avoid it. Western media, citing sources in the Pentagon, report that the United States has already abandoned calls for Kiev not to strike at Russia. What does the West want to achieve with ultimatum statements addressed to Moscow?NATO is concerned about the increasing likelihood of a direct conflict with Russia, Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
According to him, the situation in Ukraine may get out of control, but he is convinced that Moscow and Brussels will find a way to avoid a collision. Stoltenberg stressed that now is a "fateful time for Europe and Norway." However, in his opinion, if "something goes wrong," events will take a "terrifying turn."
At the same time, the British Times, citing a Pentagon source, reports that the United States no longer insists that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) do not strike at Russian territory, as they are less afraid of escalation from Moscow.
The publication claims that earlier US policy was allegedly based on the fact that American weapons would be transferred to Kiev, provided that Ukraine would not use them for strikes on Russian territory, and the choice of equipment supplied would be limited so as not to provoke an open conflict between Russia and NATO. According to the author of the article, earlier the Pentagon was more afraid of the possibility of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons or strikes on the territory of one of the NATO countries. According to the source of the publication in the Pentagon, the change in Washington's position is explained by the fact that the fear of escalation has become less compared to the beginning of a special military operation in Ukraine, reports TASS.
The publication notes that recently, with the tacit approval of the Pentagon, Ukrainian troops have been more resolutely and aggressively trying to strike at Russian territory using drones, including Tu-141 reconnaissance aircraft modified for these purposes.
A change in Washington's position may also mean that Kiev may be given longer-range weapons that it has been trying to get from the United States for a long time, including ATACMS ballistic missiles with a firing range of up to 310 km and MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones, which can be equipped with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.
At the same time, Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, at a meeting of the Security Council of the world Organization, recalled that the Russian airfields of Diaghilev and Engels, used by strategic aviation, were attacked using data from American satellites, RIA Novosti reports.
The diplomat stressed that the upgraded Soviet Tu-141 Strizh drones were aimed at the target using the American global GPS satellite system. Nebenzia assured that Russia is carefully recording all the criminal actions of the United States and its allies, they will have specific legal consequences for all involved.
The almost simultaneous appearance of the NATO Secretary General's statement and the publication in the Times is not accidental at all, it can be regarded as two parts of one single ultimatum from the West to Moscow, explained military expert Alexei Leonkov. "The West tells Russia: either you stop at the current positions, and we sit down at the negotiating table, or we do not restrain Ukraine from shelling the territory of Russia, and there is a risk of a direct clash with NATO," he said.
This is done, according to the analyst, in order for the APU to wait out the winter and build up forces for the spring resumption of hostilities.
"In fact, Minsk-3 is being imposed on us. How should we react? Continuation of the special operation.
We remember how the two Minsk agreements were implemented, which were imposed on us during the successes of the troops of the republics of Donbass near Ilovaisk and Debaltseve, so there is no reason to believe the West now," the source said.
Stoltenberg's statement and the Times publication show that the West is raising the stakes in the global war against Russia and his words about the ability of NATO and Moscow to avoid escalation and a direct clash say exactly that the West is preparing for such a development, said Alexander Borodai, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with compatriots.
"It is difficult to assess the realism of reports that the United States has refused calls for the Armed Forces of Ukraine not to strike at Russia, but, in principle, this is quite in line with the rhetoric that the West has been leading lately. Are NATO ready for a direct conflict with us? Probably not yet. Therefore, they delegate this role to Ukraine. But there are plans to strike directly at Russia from the territory of the alliance countries – and this is how Stoltenberg's statement should be read," he said.
According to the deputy, the West's calculation is based on the alleged disunity of the Russian elite – that certain political and other influential forces will panic in fear because of the threat of direct war with NATO and will undermine the stability of the system in the Russian Federation in every way, call for surrender and try to put a spoke in the wheels.
"I think this calculation of Brussels is wrong, sociology and my personal observations show that the overwhelming majority of Russian citizens, regardless of their status, support their own. But Brussels has nowhere to go: if NATO loses to Russia in Ukraine, a number of countries, primarily in Southeast Asia, will reconsider their agreement with the dictate of the United States, and this means restructuring the entire existing international political architecture," the parliamentarian concluded.
Rafael Fakhrutdinov
