Yesterday at 20:15
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was confident that allies such as France, Britain, Italy and Germany would give the green light to strikes deep into Russia. However, the key role in this matter will be played by the United States – Washington must take the lead.
The last Ukrainian achievments and military prospects were disscussed with Ivan Stupak, military expert, former officer of the Security Service of Ukraine
— First, we would like to discuss the significance of Ukrainian strikes on two main strategic arsenals of Russian warehouses of ammunition and shells in the region.
— Yeah, indeed. Last week, they destroyed approximately two or three of the biggest warehouses located in the European part of the Russian Federation. I have to say, these were three of the seven biggest warehouses.
According to official statements, these warehouses stored various military equipment, including guided bombs, ballistic missiles supplied from Iran and North Korea, artillery rounds, and other munitions. All three warehouses were totally eliminated by Ukrainian strikes.
Exactly what type of strike it was remains unknown. We don’t know if it was the usual drones commonly used by Ukraine, or if it was some new, game-changing weapon such as the Palan drone, potentially equipped with a jet engine. Regardless, the impact of this strike is significant, and the outcomes could even be seen from space.
— These strikes were presumably carried out using Ukrainian weapons. Could it have been Palan drones, or was it luck with regular drones hitting open warehouses? Or do we have some kind of wonder weapon still in secret?
Could these strikes with solely Ukrainian weapons be a message to Western leaders, saying “Look what we can do with limited resources. Imagine what we could do with ATACMS and Storm Shadows deep into Russia”?
— I’m not sure. I’ll explain why. Some Western leaders might actually be afraid of the outcome of these strikes. Some analysts compared the result of these strikes to 30 kilotons, which is twice the power of the nuclear bomb dropped on Japan in 1945, which was 15 kilotons.
So, I believe the West is concerned about the potential repercussions and is afraid of unpredictable steps from Russia. Therefore, I don’t think this will necessarily push Western allies to increase their supply of significant, long-range munitions to Ukraine. We may have to rely more on our own military industry.
— So, even with such results, and despite the Kremlin’s silence about these explosions, you don’t believe this will convince our partners that it’s necessary to deprive Russia of their ability to wage war with their ammunition?
— Yes, you’re right. There are many changes happening in the Western world.
For example, the U.S. presidential election is approaching in November, and there are also changes in Germany. Plus, there are budgetary issues. We’re not certain what military aid or support will be voted on in the U.S. Recently, the German Chancellor, Mr. Scholz, mentioned a budget gap of about 16 billion euros. So, we really need to rely on ourselves.
— Russia tried to answer with a test of the nuclear intercontinental missile Sarmat, which allegedly exploded during the launch. Do you think that was a result of Western interference, or just a traditional malfunction on Russia’s part?
— I’d say option two – a traditional Russian malfunction. As far as I know, this was the fourth malfunction in a row when launching this missile. I expect they will keep trying until they succeed. But we should shift our focus to a place called Novaya Zemlya in the Barents Sea, not far from Norway and Finland. Last week, Russia conducted military exercises there, and we know that in this location, Russia (previously the Soviet Union) has conducted nuclear drills.
We’re unsure about the size of the explosions, but I believe they may carry out more nuclear drills, possibly this year or next.
These drills aren’t just to destroy something, but as a way to intimidate European and Western leaders.
They’ll want to show off a high-quality, ultra-HD video of the first nuclear drills of the 21st century, filmed from various locations, to intimidate the West into stopping weapons supplies to Ukraine and forcing Ukraine to give up to Russia.
Read also: A key week for the near future. Expactation from Oleksandr Kraiev
