Ukraine's drone strike reshapes Russian nuclear deterrence
Kyiv struck one of the elements of Russia's nuclear triad on Sunday, which will likely provoke retaliation, noted Marcin Ogdowski, a journalist for "Polska Zbrojna," writer, and war correspondent, in a conversation with PAP.
On Sunday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that, in an operation by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) using 117 drones, 34 per cent of Russian strategic bombers were destroyed or damaged.
The Ukrainian army targeted one of the elements of the Russian nuclear triad. After this attack, Russia still maintains its deterrence capability, but its comfort level is not the same as it was a few days ago, observed the journalist of "Polska Zbrojna."
According to Ogdowski, the Kremlin will likely seek a military response to the Ukrainians' action on Sunday. It's too severe a blow to leave it without a reaction. Putin needs to show both his own people and the global public that he is taking action following such a daring attack on a nuclear superpower, said the expert.
As the writer noted, the Ukrainians somewhat self-restricted in Sunday’s attack on Russian aviation. They did not destroy, for example, any Tu-160 aircraft; they targeted specific types of machines, Tu-95 and Tu-22M bombers, which typically participate in raids on Ukraine, Ogdowski said.
According to him, this was deliberate: the aim was to inflict significant losses on the Russians, but not enough to provoke "ultimate measures" in response.
The expert also mentioned information recently published by Western media about a base near the town of Yasny in the Orenburg region, close to the border with Kazakhstan. He noted that the leaked data exposes the Russian base to attack.
He emphasized that the base in Yasny is crucial from a Russian defence perspective; intercontinental missiles are launched from there, and the latest Russian nuclear warhead carriers are also stored there.
Currently, nuclear weapons are the only military asset that makes Russia a superpower, noted Ogdowski.
"Ukrainian special services are very active"
As the journalist added, one can speak of a breach in Russian counterintelligence due to the leakage of a large amount of classified information. This breach is even more significant because it concerns a country with very extensive special services previously renowned for their exceptional effectiveness, said Ogdowski.
Sunday's attack proves that Ukrainian special services operate very actively in Russia and can meet the toughest challenges. This includes planning and executing an effective strike on a strategically significant facility, assessed the expert.
In light of this, I wouldn't be surprised if Kyiv possessed very detailed information about the security measures of other key Russian nuclear facilities, added the PAP interlocutor.
