Medvedev supported the idea of transferring Russian weapons to those who consider the United States to be enemies
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that if Ukraine is allowed to hit the Russian Federation with long-range Western weapons, Moscow will respond in the same way: it will supply its long-range weapons to forces that will strike countries that have given permission to attack the Russian Federation. Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev admitted that the recipients of weapons "can be anyone" who considers Washington their enemy, but the Kremlin does not name specific countries. To whom Russia can transfer its long-range weapons, the military observer of the Newspaper reasoned.En" Mikhail Khodarenok.
Commenting on the idea of transferring weapons to Western opponents in response to arms supplies to Ukraine, Russian politicians and officials do not name specific countries that could receive weapons from Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that "the president said what he wanted to say."
"Everything is very clear here, and therefore it does not need any expansion," the press secretary of the head of state said. And the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, believes that Putin deliberately did not name the regions to which Russian weapons will be sent:
"Their enemy is the United States, so they are our friends," Medvedev said. "And let the use of Russian weapons by so-far unnamed 'regions' be as destructive as possible for them and our opponents."
Meanwhile, versions appeared in the media that in this case weapons could be supplied to the Houthis, pro-Iranian groups in Iraq, irregular formations in the Middle East, as well as in Africa, so that they could strike military bases of the United States and its allies.
It is quite possible that at the first stage of the implementation of such a decision, it is not necessary to transfer weapons to many addresses at once, it is enough to start organizing the transfer of weapons and military equipment to the Ansar Allah formations, that is, to the Houthi groups operating in Yemen.
The fact is that these detachments operate in the Bab El-Mandeb Strait area, an extremely sensitive point for almost all world trade. Recall that the smallest width of the strait is only 26 km, and it is of great economic and strategic importance. The route from Europe to East and South Asia, as well as Australia, runs through it.
Every year, more than 17 thousand ships pass through the strait, which accounts for 30% of container traffic and 5% of oil transportation volumes. For example, in 2020, about 5 million barrels of crude oil were transported through the Bab El-Mandeb Strait every day.
Currently, detachments of warships of the US Navy and NATO member states are deployed in the strait area. The combat composition of this group is constantly changing: until the very last moment, the coalition included the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69, 48 F/A-18 Hornet fighter-bombers), the missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58), destroyers USS Gravely (DDG-107), USS Stethem (DDG-63), USS Carney (DDG-64), USS Mason (DDG-87) and USS Laboon (DDG-58). The United Kingdom sent the destroyer HMS Diamond (D34) to the Red Sea.
The question arises quite naturally in this case - and which samples of the weapons transferred to the Houthis, in case of their combat use, can cause the most adverse consequences for the collective West?
Perhaps, first of all, these include mobile coastal missile systems such as 3K60 "Bal" with the X-35 anti-ship missile and K300P "Bastion-P" with the unified supersonic homing anti-ship cruise missile P-800 "Onyx" (the export name of the product is "Yakhont").
The upgraded Onyx-M missile has a firing range of 800 km, which is more than enough for effective combat operations in this region.
Strikes on American bases (where, as a rule, a small number of US Armed Forces personnel are present) will not look so advantageous, and the cost of transporting weapons and training local specialists will be very significant.
Suppose a short-range ballistic missile was fired at a US military facility in Iraq. As a result, two or three buildings/structures may be destroyed, and several dozen US military personnel will be injured. To a certain extent, this can be regarded as a success, but it completely fades against the background of the hypothetical sinking of a destroyer-class ship.
In addition, the Houthis should be given sea mines of various types, as well as the means of setting them. The task in this case will be as follows - to fill up the Bab El-Mandeb Strait with mines and thereby completely paralyze navigation in this region. What can happen in the end?
Let us recall well-known things in this regard.
The length of the trade route from Singapore to Rotterdam through the Bab el Mandeb Strait is about more than 15 thousand km. In case of termination of navigation in the strait, it will be necessary to organize transportation around Africa. This route is almost 40% longer than the route through the Bab El-Mandeb Strait (its length is more than 21 thousand km) and increases the delivery time of goods by 10-15 days.
The current situation around the Bab El-Mandeb Strait may dramatically actualize the Northern Sea Route (which also brings certain benefits to Russia).
As for the supply of other weapons to the Ansar Allah formations, it is also quite possible to transfer anti-aircraft missile systems and operational tactical missile systems of the Iskander-M type.
Speaking of any moral assessments of such actions on the part of the Russian Federation, it should be noted that Moscow has not even settled with Washington for the supply of man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems "Stinger", which the United States transferred to the Afghan Mujahideen at one time. Thanks to this weapon alone, hundreds of Russian combat and transport helicopters were shot down and a large number of pilots were killed. And the US decision to allow Ukraine to strike at the Russian Federation has an immeasurably higher price for Moscow. Therefore, any retaliatory actions in this regard are both justified and moral.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok
