USA: Russia to Punish Ukraine with Severe Reprisal

U.S. officials assess that Russia’s response to last weekend’s Ukrainian drone attack on Russian airbases has not yet been fully unveiled.

The actual counterattack, according to several sources, could be comprehensive and multifaceted.

On Friday, Russia attacked military targets in Kyiv using a combination of missiles and drones.

The Russian Ministry of Defense declared the attack was retaliation for “acts of terror” committed by Ukraine. However, U.S. officials now warn that this was only the beginning.

“The full Russian response has not yet come, and we expect it to be asymmetric,” a U.S. official told Reuters. This means that the attack will not directly mirror Ukraine’s strategy but will instead target more unpredictable objectives.

Another official added that both missiles and drones are expected to be used in the forthcoming operation.

According to Western diplomatic sources, the targets could include symbolically important buildings in Kyiv, such as government offices, to send a clear signal to the Ukrainian government.

American think tank expert Michael Kofman points out that Russia’s special focus could be directed towards the SBU, Ukraine’s intelligence service. “They might use ballistic missiles to hit the SBU headquarters or regional intelligence centers,” he stated, while also assessing that Russia could target Ukrainian weapons factories.

Nevertheless, it is uncertain whether Russia has many new moves up its sleeve. “Russia’s ability to further escalate military attacks is limited. They have already thrown much of their capacity into the conflict in recent months,” Kofman assesses.

The spectacular Ukrainian attack, which triggered this threat of reprisal, took place during the operation “Spider’s Web.”

Here, Ukraine used 117 drones, which were smuggled deep into Russian territory. According to U.S. intelligence, up to 20 Russian aircraft were hit, about 10 of which were destroyed.

Despite Russian denials of losses, military bloggers in Russia have reported severe damage to several aircraft, including nuclear-weapon-carrying units.

In a social media post, former President Donald Trump stated that in a phone call with Vladimir Putin he warned him against proceeding with retaliation.

“I said: ‘Don’t do it. You should stop it.’ But there is much hatred,” Trump later told reporters.

A Western diplomat summarized the sentiment according to Reuters: “It’s going to be big, vicious, and relentless. But the Ukrainians are a brave people.”

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