Russian strategies in Yemen: Thwarted missile deal and covert training
The Russians are attempting in every conceivable manner to create difficulties for Western countries, whether through actions in Africa opposing France or on the Arabian Peninsula. Here's why and how the Russians want to support the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
According to CNN, Russia was prepared in July to supply missiles and other military equipment to the Houthi rebels in Yemen. However, due to last-minute pressure from the United States and Saudi Arabia, Moscow withdrew from this intention. Nonetheless, Russia deployed military personnel to Yemen for training purposes.
Saudi Arabia warned Moscow against arming the Houthis when it became aware of Russia’s plans, and the United States requested that the Saudis intervene to persuade the Russians to reconsider their decision to provide military support to the Houthi rebels.
U.S. intelligence is not entirely certain whether it was specifically Saudi Arabia’s actions that were decisive in Moscow abandoning plans to supply weapons to the Houthis or if it was one of several factors that prompted Vladimir Putin to change his stance, CNN sources highlight.
According to CNN sources, the Russians considered plans to arm the Houthis as an act of retribution against the U.S. administration, which had authorised attacks on Russian territory using American weapons.
Ultimately, Russia abandoned its plans to supply weapons to the Houthis and sent military personnel to Yemen, who advised the rebels for three days in July. U.S. representatives observed that large Russian ships stopped in the southern Red Sea. Russian personnel disembarked from these vessels and were picked up by Houthi boats, which then sailed to Yemen.
Houthi rebels controlling half of the country have launched a campaign in recent months to attack commercial ships and military vessels passing through the Red Sea, destabilising global logistics. Many operators, unwilling to take risks, bypassed Africa, increasing delivery time and costs. In retaliation, U.S. and British forces, among others, carried out a series of bombings degrading the Houthi rebels’ capabilities.
Here’s what the Russians might have wanted to deliver to the Houthi rebels
The Russians could have significantly assisted the Houthis by providing anti-ship weapons, which they still have in large quantities from Soviet times. Except for certain exceptions, like the Kh-22 missiles with a range of 500 kilometres, they are useless in the war in Ukraine, but they could be useful to the Russians. Examples include the P-270 Moskit anti-ship missiles with a range of up to 250 kilometres.
From the 1980s, this model could fly at Mach 2-3 speed and carry a warhead weighing up to 300 kilograms. Guidance is provided by a tandem of inertial navigation and an active radar homing head that precisely targets the missile. The Russians had these missiles in land-launched and ship-launched versions.
