Tensions are continuing to rise between Ukraine and Russia over the Crimean Peninsula border, after a weekend incident in which alleged Ukrainian infiltrators killed a pair of Russians, including a soldier and an FSB security service member. The Ukrainian government denied not only that they had anything to do with it, but that the incident happened at all.
Amid reports of Ukrainian military buildup along the border, Russia has announced the deployment of an S-400 air defense system into the Crimean Peninsula. The advanced missile system is designed to prevent enemy combat aircraft access to the surrounding airspace.
The S-400 is one of Russia’s signature top-end technological assets, and the deployments are usually seen as proof Russia “means business” in a given situation. At the same time, the missiles would have no use against attempted infiltration by foreign spies on the ground, so it would be a purely PR move.
Even as a check against a full-scale war breaking out, the S-400 would be of limited impact in a fight with Ukraine, which has a relatively small air force of early 1980s Soviet aircraft. Russian Defense Ministry officials confirmed the deployment but provided little insight as to why.
“…S-400 would be of limited impact in a fight with Ukraine…”
Perhaps the deployment was not meant for Ukrainian aircraft intrusions of Crimean airspace…
….kinda like the installation of the Missile Shield in Poland against, against…..Iran (lol)
Exactly!
This puts the US airbases in Romania within range, and also establishes a 250 mile perimeter into the Black Sea against shipborne and submarine borne
Tomahawks and Harpoons.
Wouldn’t this give Russia control of the airspace over the border region where Ukraine has had a military buildup? It seems to me this would be a step to take just before you launch a war.
Or, if you have a violent and frequently provocative military power on your borders that overthrew the democracy next door and replaced them with a bunch of violent fascists that have extreme racial hatred towards anything ‘Russian’ and that are backed by other major world powers that constantly provide billions of dollars in weapons aid and which are training the fascist forces.
If I’m not mistaken, this deployment was planned and announced many months ago.
A simple google search found references to these plans for the S-400 in the Southern military district announced in 2012 and installations becoming active announced in Sept, 2014.