In response to a deadly strike on the Crimean Peninsula that killed four and wounded over 100, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Washington had effectively become a party to the war, and Moscow would “certainly” retaliate. The Kremlin says American missiles were used in the attack.
On Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the US ambassador to express outrage over Sunday’s attack on Crimea. The Kremlin claims that American ATACMS missiles were used, that Washington provided intelligence to Kiev to coordinate the attack, and that a US drone was operating near Sevastopol when the assault on civilian targets took place.
According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, the US “has effectively become a party” to the war on Ukraine’s side, adding, “Retaliatory measures will certainly follow.”
The Kremlin said the deadly assault involved five ATACMS. The defense ministry reported that four were shot down, and a fifth exploded over a civilian area. Russia labeled the missile barrage a “terrorist” attack on “one of the most important Orthodox holidays, the Day of the Holy Trinity.”
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the ATACMS were cluster bombs. Such bombs contain submunitions and are designed as anti-personnel weapons meant to scatter small submunitions over a large area. The US has outlawed the export of most cluster weapons because of how deadly the submunitions are for civilians. President Joe Biden is likely in violation of this law by shipping the weapons to Ukraine.
Last year, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry posted a video threatening Russian civilians on vacation in Crimea. The video shows civilians fleeing explosions and tells the Russian audience, “We warned you last summer to stay away from Crimea.”
The peninsula was annexed by Moscow in 2014, but Kiev and Washington maintain that the Kremlin must hand control back to Ukraine to end the war. In Russian President Putin’s recent ceasefire offer to Kiev, he said Ukraine would have to recognize Russia’s claim over the territory.
Russia suffered a second major attack on Sunday. In Russia’s southern Dagestan Republic, at least 19 people were killed and 25 injured in a coordinated assault at various places of worship. While no group immediately claimed responsibility, law enforcement agencies reported the attack was from “adherents of an international terrorist organization.”
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.
It took Putin a while to get to this point, but we're there now. American troops anywhere in the world had better, in the immortal words of the Honorable Henry J. Lepetomane in the movie "Blazing Saddes": "You watch your ass."
They have already been under attacks since the US opted to support the Israeli war on Gaza – i.e. nothing much will change.
The US has been supporting Israel since 1948. It is now a "major non-NATO ally" by law.
Exactly so nothing changes.
They not only support Israel they are controlled by the same psychotic mob. The Zionists are the first terrorists in the world who have managed to secretly govern the largest and most violent country in the world ie The US of A. Plus of course openly controlling the Settler Colony of Israel
For a small example of things that can change, check out the news last week that Russia would be sharing weapons with N Korea. You don't think Pentagon is worried about this?
How about provisioning Iran with some state of the art stuff, or the militias in Iraq, etc. … or getting kicked out of more places in Africa, or …
A LOT can change 🙂
Not overly much so – this would be the consequence of allowing Putin his wish to end the current world order.
So while not welcome it was as many see it inevitable.
Not a problem – the US was not able to invade Iran as it stood and Iran is not going to commit suicide by starting a war against the US.
As for Africa, I doubt that the US is all that interested – the French and UK yes, the US much less so – and again no African regime will desire to end their time by starting a war.
On the plus side that can prevent the US from getting mired in an African adventure.
BS … giving hypersonics to NK was not inevitable or part of Russias plans. Your constant miss is this: you think the issue is Russia looking for trouble. You don’t understand that it is the USUK that constantly mongers for war because it’s good for their owners’ bottom line.
As for Iran, it’s the troops stationed in Iraq and Syria that are highly vulnerable and will likely be the focus as needed.
Two points: 1) the Russians will most likely not give 'hypersonic' weapons.
2) Hypersonic weapons deserving the name cannot reach the US from NK.
No I think the issue is Russia wanting to change the current rules based world order and return to a multipolar world.
You are very wrong – neither this war nor the ones the US actually provoked (Iraq II) made money for the 'owners' the US arms industry has made less money comparatively to other sectors ever since 1991.
Again the Iranians are not going to attack these troops directly – that would provoke the kind of retaliation they would like to avoid – they may continue the attacks they have carried out since October 2023.
If in doubt look at how carefully they avoided Israeli casualties when the retaliated for the Israeli attack on their consulate in Syria.
If Iran grows more powerful, it will act differently.
No the Iranians are not suicidal – they will not attack the US directly – there would be very little to gain for them and a lot to lose. Try arguing why it is that you think they would attack US forces directly risking massive retaliation just to kill a few hundred US soldiers!
They’d like to drive the US out for the same reason the US wants to remain in. The US would lose influence in the region.
Iran might be able to attack indirectly, given the strength.
Iran conflicts with both Pakistan and Turkey. So, it is balanced somewhat.
Iran probably figures the US will be weaker 20 years from now. So, it might wait things out.
Yes the Iranians would like the US to leave the middle east (as would many of the rest of us) but they would not attack them directly to try to achieve this – as it likely would achieve the opposite.
And yes Iran is much more likely to wait the US out – so again arming Iran changes very little.
The Russian don't have to give hypersonics to NK. The Topol-M has a range of 11,000 KM and can easily reach the western US, specifically my town, San Francisco.
Theodor Postol claims the NK HS-18 is a knock-off of the Topol-M. 38North article claims it isn't.
But with the latest Russia-NK deal, I suspect any differences will be fixed by the Russia providing additional technical assistance to NK.
Not that I think NK would ever actually attack the US with any sort of missile. They are perfectly well aware that one US sub with one missile with multiple warheads could obliterate 8 or 10 NK cities in 30 minutes.
However, those NK missiles could do real damage to South Korea or Japan should either of those countries support a US war with China – which is why Putin made his deal and why China approves, despite Scott Ritter's notion that China wouldn't.
As for Iran, it's not a question of Iran attacking the US. The US WILL attack Iran at some point, as I've been saying for 18 years. Then those US troops in the region will be at risk of being annihilated by indigenous forces in those countries the US has troops in. There's zero chance those US forces will survive.
The only reason they're alive now is because no country wants the FULL force of the US directed at them ALONE. In a wider Mid-East, the FULL force of the US will NOT be directed against them ALONE because the US will be spread too thin across half a dozen countries – Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, the UAE, etc. The US simply does not have the necessary forces either in theater or outside theater to defend everything.
As you point out (a point I agree with) NK can already reach much of the US and in time likely the rest – so nothing changes (the time may be a bit different that’s all( – the more important point is however as you also point out “Not that I think NK would ever actually attack the US with any sort of missile.”
If China starts an invasion of Taiwan the US likely will help the Taiwanese to try to defeat such an invasion – it is possible that Japan or South Korea will assist in the sense that they will allow bases to be used or overflights but that is the likely maximum of their participation – NK will not risk massive retaliation to assist the Chinese in that scenario.’
They may try their own invasion of South Korea while/if the US is over engaged in Taiwan but not pinpoint attacks on those countries that the Chinese could just as easily strike by themselves.
As for Iran it is only a plus if the US is deterred from attacking/invading – nothing good will be achieved through such actions.
If you don't understand that the U.S. provoked, and in fact CAUSED the war in Ukraine, you're clueless.
If you put your conclusion without evidence or arguments you are not entering a debate.
Think you are completely wrong about Africa; Africa is the Wild West to the SOCOM fuckwits in the US military (I absolutely despise the whole "special forces" concept; it breeds yahoos and cowboys) who get to run around and play cowboy with zero accountability; they get to kill an "enemy" that has very limited means of fighting back, and there is zero media coverage, so every mishap becomes another "successful strike against Boko Haram" or whoever the flavor of the month is. Take SOCOM out of Africa and they MIGHT, just MAYBE, have to start behaving like adults. Can't have that.
I see little evidence of increased US involvement in Africa – ever since the Somalian debacle – special military forces actions perhaps, but no desire to get deeply involved. If these special military forces are forced to abstain or think twice I see only advantages in that for both the US and Africa,
It is very much a “secret war”, with There is a columnist here on Antiwar.com (whose name I forget) who USED to post regularly about the enormous expansion of AFRICOM ( and yes, it is the special operations command little private playground); but here’s a link to Maj Danny Sjursen’s column about how Africa is blowing up but nobody cares
https://original.antiwar.com/danny_sjursen/2022/02/02/while-eyes-were-watching-ukraine-africa-was-ablaze/
It makes me ashamed of my country. And yes, us getting kicked out would be a good thing, but the CIA and SpecOps will fight it every step of the way. Where else can they kill (errrrr…..”operate”) with complete impunity?
So very much down from the direct and overt military involvement seen in Somalia.
My point stands this does not represent a continent where the US is placing high value on direct involvement.
Or to put it a different way – there is not much chance of the US getting involved even if say the Congo was to experience a coup.
That is in no way to deny that the US is involved in covert and (often) dirty operations (which you'd be right to be ashamed about) just that it in no way represents an area where the US would get involved like in Iraq.
I agree the amount of involvement is much less; but the USA is incapable of picking up its toys and going home; the more Africans want us gone, the more we’ll find reasons to “stay”.
Well, when the Russians do it, it will be far more effective.
The point being that Russia will not do it – Russia simply will not attack US forces anywhere in the world directly – through third parties sure but not dorectly.
American "advisers" who are in Ukraine will be eliminated. Sad deal.
It's like people who accidentally die on Disney property – medics won't declare the American advisors dead until off Ukrainian territory.
Then it'll be, "Oh, your loved one was exploded by the, um, Osprey aircraft they were aboard in, um, Okinawa. Yeah, that's a pretty mundane claim."
The Russian Federation need not retaliate in a violent way. The USA has proven vulnerable to comparatively minor situations that cause them to do themselves more harm than anyone else did.
Target the undersea comms cables linking North America to the world. Cause widespread power outages across urban centers at inopportune times. Widely distributed movie spoilers. Nobody dies; many suffer nagging inconveniences to "their American way of life" causing further social division; and the USA will hysterically and expensively over-react like it ALWAYS ALWAYS does.
Uniting otherwise-adversarial Americans against Russia probably isn't in Russia's best interest.
I don't think it'd unite as many as it would further divide. Absent an Actual Alien Invasion From Outer Space, the Left and Right would each castigate the other for the failure to "stop" the RF response. And the Authoritarian axis would stomp down harder on what little is left of the Libertarian axis.
No, the USA is locked into a myopic death-spiral of self-destruction and self-division. Even if there were the APPEARANCE of unity after a "soft 9/11 2.0", the State's overreaction and foolhardy financial & economic waste would bring social divisions ROARING back to the fore.
I guess I disagree. Most American liberals are already pro-Ukraine and it simply runs contrary to the average American conservative's impulses to support an attack on American property even if they could blame it on Joe Biden. Like it or not, 9/11 is still a relevant social touchpoint for any American old enough to remember it.
As for Libertarianism, as a concrete thesis it is practically unknown in mainstream American thought. lol
Most Americans were against more funding at last polling and wanted negotiations. Most do not want nuclear war, even though they are too stupid to embrace the possibility.
Where are the sane adults in the room? Not in the Democratic party and not Biden.
If anything happens to the US, I blame him.
Speaking of 9/11. CBS: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bayoumi-video-examined-as-september-11-evidence-60-minutes/
If they launched cyber or kinetic attacks against Wall Street, the banks, or the donor class, or the political class, I doubt most ordinary Americans would care
Wide spread outages in extreme heatwaves is a death sentence for many, not an inconvenience.
Many of us want to see the war ended. Attacking allies in that goal isn’t endearing nor productive. Block arms to Israel or other priorities of the insane leadership.
If Hezbollah hits the electrical grid in Israel, there will be problems. The head of the electrical company voiced his fear of the grid being vulnerable. He was rewarded by being removed from his job.
The problem would be convincing people that the outages are the result of a deliberate attack and not the usual crumbling of infrastructure due to corporate greed.
That too.
Or they could sabotage US infrastructure and foment mass shootings. The only problem is crumbling infrastructure and mass shootings are so common in modern America that no one would think to attribute them to Russia. It would be like the US making Siberia cold.
if it was a mistake and the cluster munition was supposed to hit the base nearby, someone better admit it, asap. Kids were killed. Many wounded. Civilians all. On a stinking beach.
The defense minister is proudly proclaiming war crimes by specifically targeting noncombatant civilians and telegraphing the intent ahead of time. Some who are supposed Ukrainians.
The US government is supporting war crimes across the globe. I understand children were killed and/or injured. Quite a tally going.
NATO’s Endgame Is Nuclear War
Chris Wright
https://www.compactmag.com/article/natos-endgame-is-nuclear-war/
Anyway to make this a multiple choice solution ED?…
wink, wink, nudge, nudge
By the way, I am busy that day….
Our government is supporting this: https://countercurrents.org/2024/06/gaza-under-the-bombs-with-24-killed-in-al-shati-camp/click on the video, keeping the volume on your computer up. A vision and sounds of hell. G-d D*mn Biden and whoever thinks this is OK.
I don’t want to click your link, but we’ll see other groups dehumanised, likely Iran, Pakistan, parts of India, Latin America, Africa, etc.
The US gov seems to dislike El Salvador’s reforms that imprisoned gangs… I don’t know why that’d be; maybe parts of the US gov are enriched from illegal drug trading.
Because the people running the U.S. are criminals, and they don't like seeing fellow criminals imprisoned because they could be next.
Looks like the Geneva Convention is down the toilet. Just another of the evil actions of the Evil Empire, Ukraine being nothing but a proxy for that empire.
It’s funny, not the ha ha type, but yesterday there were big headlines of ICC coming for the arrest of Russian military leaders. On the same day Ukraine proudly states that they deliberately targeted civilians. You can’t make this shit up.
Washington is not only a party of the war but also a party of a terrorist war against Russian civilians.
Of course Russia has to retaliate. Then U.S. retaliate, then again Russia, then again U.S.
That's why it is important to keep the nukes ready for action.
Some years ago, Putin said: if the fight is unavoidable, it is better to hit first.
But what are they going to do? Sabotage bridges? They are already falling apart because repairs cost money that the donors don't want to pay. Knock airliners out of the sky? Corporate greed is already doing that. Foment mass shootings? We already have those covered to.
Or Russia could turn the other cheek. It doesn't have to retaliate.
"The US has outlawed the export of most cluster weapons because of how deadly the submunitions are for civilians. President Joe Biden is likely in violation of this law by shipping the weapons to Ukraine."
Not true at all!!!
As one of the countries that did not ratify the treaty, the United States said that cluster bombs are a legal form of weapon, and that they had a "clear military utility in combat." It also said that compared to other types of weapons, cluster bombs are less harmful to civilians.
Are cluster bombs banned by the US?
For this reason, the Convention on Cluster Munitions was established. Signed by 123 nations, it came into effect in 2010. The convention prohibits using, developing, producing, acquiring, stockpiling, or transferring cluster munitions. Russia, Ukraine, and the United States have not signed the convention.Jul 10, 2023
The cluster bombs were give to Ukraine by UK…!
What is your source – last I checked UK explicitly ruled out supplying cluster bombs:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/08/ukraine-cluster-munitions-rishi-sunak-aid
No coincidence the very next day the ICC decides to issue arrest warrants for Shoigue & Gerasimov.