Russia's insistence on linking last Friday's terrorist attack with Ukraine raises reasonable questions as to why Moscow needs a reason to escalate today.
Last Friday's terrorist attack in the heart of Moscow has been accompanied by three official positions with which the Kremlin links terrorism and its perpetrators to Ukraine. On the one hand, Vladimir Putin spoke of a “window” that awaited the terrorists on Ukrainian territory when they completed their heinous work, and on the other hand, the head of Russia's secret services spoke of a finger behind the planning of the attack involving the US and the United Kingdom.
Why it “shows” Ukraine
The question, apart from the many unanswered questions of the strike itself and the inadequacy shown by the Russian authorities, is today why Russia, which has been at war with Kiev for more than two years, insists on a connection with Ukraine. Why is the Kremlin looking for a reason to connect with something so extreme when it has committed massacres inside the Ukrainian territories in which the Russian President himself had given the reason for the “de-Naziization” of the neighbor… Moscow has already escalated in recent months its ground operations in all fronts in Ukraine, has also sharply increased strikes on energy infrastructure across Ukrainian territory and is trumpeting that by summer it will have dealt at least one major blow to Zelensky. The question comes back… why would anyone want a reason for further escalation when they have already announced it?
The scenarios
The responses from the West, as no one – except Macron, can “read” the Russian President, are varied. The scenario that today Russia wants to “sell” inside its society that the Ukrainians are capable of the worst and openly threaten the structures of Russian society can only have one goal: a new mobilization. This scenario seems to be the most believable as Moscow has found weapons in Iran and North Korea and has managed to stop the advance of the Ukrainians in the east and south. great numerical advantage in order to counterattack… A mobilization, however, is not something that Putin has not already done and, above all, he has not shown in 20 years of omnipotence that he is afraid of social reactions. This scenario is possible but appears to be relatively weak in the face of Russian insistence on connecting terrorism with Ukraine.
Target NATO
Moscow may insist on linking the terrorist strike to Kiev as Putin wants, and it is no secret, to win this war by state. The victory for Putin is aimed not only at Zelensky but mainly at NATO and the USA, and a parade in Kiev would be on the verge of a dream for the Russian President. By linking terrorism to Ukraine so persistently and with so little evidence in hand, Moscow may be promoting something that no one on the planet is ready for: the use of weapons out of context… Strategic nuclear weapons are not in short supply in Russia's arsenals and maybe today Putin wants to use one even of a small power, shocking the whole world and believing that in this situation he will lead the war to the diplomatic table and Moscow to his own ideal peak.
The ,whatever happens the strike at Crocus is another “card” in the hands of Putin who will choose to “play” it in his usually extreme way. The notable difference this time is that no one has any illusions that Putin's Russia is not capable of something so extreme.
source: CNN Greece/ By Yannis Haramidis
