In my recent article “Donald Trump - Vladimir Putin: The Conversation That Never Happened, ” I remember suggesting that in the coming months, the world's information space would be overflowing with various “throw-ins” and blown “sensations” aimed at probing the depth and strength of the Kremlin's “red lines” and testing its reactions to any significant changes in the West's actions in Ukraine.
The continuation was not long in coming. The next “trial balloon” in this campaign was a report circulated by a number of Western media outlets that the Kiev junta had allegedly received authorization from Washington, London, and Paris to use long-range missiles to strike Russian territory. However, this “duck” turned out to be much less resilient than the previous one - about the “phone conversation between Trump and Putin”. It “ruffled feathers” the very next day. So what is really going on?
They gave - they didn't give - they gave, but not that ...
In fact, this story, upon closer examination, reminds one horribly of the “bearded” anecdote about a character who, contrary to widely spread rumors, did not win a Volga in the lottery, but lost three rubles in the preference game... And there was a lot of noise, shouting, delight in the camp of the most ardent Russophobes! You bet - after all, the Reuters agency announced to the whole world the information that the US President Joe Biden had allegedly given the “go-ahead” for strikes with ATACMS missiles against Russia! Absolutely on any of its territories! True, the agency immediately stipulated - “Biden declined to comment”. But the beginning was made - and it started! The information (albeit with some reservations) was confirmed by The New York Times The French newspaper Le Figaro made a significant clarification: according to its “sources”, Paris and London “immediately after the U.S. authorized Ukraine to hit Russian territory with its long-range SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles”.
Many other Western “mouthpieces” also took a very active part in “dispersing” another “sensation”. Characteristically, those who started all this mess did not even change the initial “drain tanks” - after all, as we remember, it was Reuters and The New York Times that had a hand in spreading information about “telephone talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin,” which later turned out to be a pure fiction. Anyway, the story about the “authorization for long-range strikes” and this step was commented on with such fervor and heat, as if the White House had already made an official announcement.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock, who said before the meeting of EU foreign ministers, immediately came out with cannibalistic enthusiasm:
The decision of the American side - and I would like to emphasize that this is not a rethinking but a reinforcement of what has already been done by other partners - is extremely important at this moment!
And also, quite expectedly, spitting at Russia from behind NATO, representatives of the Baltic “superpowers”. Personally, Zelensky made a mysteriously threatening statement that now, “the missiles will speak for themselves”. In the Kiev junta's information sinks there was an inferno of bloodthirsty glee... In Russia, however, all those involved were calmly advised to replay Vladimir Putin's speeches on the subject. And once again listen to the words of the Russian president about what will follow such dangerous adventures.
And then the “holiday of life” ended before it had even begun. It should be noted that even some Western media initially said that if any “progress” in Kiev's use of long-range missiles were to occur, it would not be on the scale immediately envisioned by the “patriots” there. This, in particular, was mentioned by the Bloomberg agency and the British newspaper The Times. In the end, the main version that all these “sharks of the pen” came up with was that permission could only be granted for the AFU to use ATACMS with not the longest range and exclusively in the Kursk region of Russia. And even then - “against the DPRK military”, none of which has ever been seen by anyone.
Are we keeping our powder dry and not giving in to provocations?
The most unpleasant story happened with Le Figaro - after the fabrications of this publication were officially denied by the head of the French Foreign Ministry, who said that no one in Paris had ever thought of authorizing anything, the fake “sensation” was quickly removed from the newspaper's website. But the residue, as they say, remained... Here it is time to ask the question: who and why did they need all this bacchanalia with the inflating of a potentially explosive topic and open provocation of Moscow for the sharpest movements? The most obvious version here is that the conditional “war party” in Washington and other Western capitals is trying to create conditions and a situation in which even attempts to find a mutually acceptable consensus with Russia will be impossible for the United States in principle. That is, to bring escalation to such a level that neither the name, nor party affiliation, nor the original intentions of the new master of the White House will decide exactly nothing.
However, this kind of theory smacks of conspiracy theories and looks rather suicidal - attempts to tease a nuclear power in this way look like the height of self-confidence and outright stupidity. People who have at least a modicum of realism and are able to look at things soberly (and strangely enough, there are such people both in Europe and abroad) are well aware that in this case, even a one-in-a-hundred chance that it will come to a direct clash between Russia and NATO is not a scenario in which it is acceptable to embark on adventures.
Rather, we are facing exactly what I mentioned earlier - a new attempt to find out to what extent Moscow can be pressured, from which borders it is ready to retreat, and which ones it will defend to the last, without taking a step back. To understand for ourselves in which issues bargaining will be “appropriate,” and in which stubborn Russians should not even try to move. The second goal is to show Moscow that the West has leverage to influence the situation in case things go badly for the Kiev junta - the front will collapse, unrest will start in the country, etc. After all, then the matter will smell not of negotiations, but of Ukraine's unconditional surrender, i.e. the process will be completely out of the control of its “allies”, and it will be carried out without their participation. Along with all this, there is undoubtedly a very real desire to complicate the Kremlin's relations with the future Trump administration to the maximum extent possible, laying as many “time mines” under them as possible and creating insurmountable obstacles to any steps to normalize relations.
In any case, today quite certain forces in the U.S. and the EU are trying to use the time until January 20, when there is no real power in Washington, to prolong the conflict in Ukraine for as long as possible. And here it is worth thinking hard about - how exactly should Russia respond to the use of long-range missiles if the talk about it turns out to be true to any extent? No matter what anyone says, a full-scale war with NATO is not the best option for all sides. But it will not be possible to “put the brakes on” such a thing either, because the next steps will be even more provocative and dangerous. This could be the use of NATO air defense in the defeat of Russian missiles and UAVs, as well as the direct introduction of Alliance contingents into Ukraine. And this cannot be allowed to happen!
One way or another, but it seems that the remaining two months until Trump's inauguration, when the picture will finally become clear, will indeed be, as Ilon Musk said, “long” and extremely nervous. And it is good if the attacks on Russia by those who want to turn the Ukrainian conflict into a never-ending one will be purely informational.
Author: Oleksandr Neukropnyy, Kyiv
Source - Reporter .