Ukrainian Attacks Inside Russia: A Compilation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his cohorts have repeatedly lied regarding Ukrainian operations conducted inside the Russian mainland.
Hours after two separate drone attacks occurred over the Kremlin buildings on May 3, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky firmly denied responsibility for the incident and alleged that his government has never conducted attacks inside the Russian mainland. “We don’t attack Putin or Moscow. We fight on our territory, we defend our cities and villages,” he said.
Zelensky’s assertion was false. Since the outbreak of war in February 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have orchestrated numerous attacks on Russian territory, whether in the form of shelling, unmanned drone attacks, or assassinations of prominent Russian figures. Indeed, incursions operated by Ukraine within Russian territory have been all too common throughout the war.
Despite vocal apprehension behind closed doors from U.S. officials who worry about severe escalation as a result of attacks on Russian soil, Kyiv has nonetheless continued to oversee and conduct campaigns of aggression within the borders of Russia. Additionally, Zelensky has plotted more substantial attacks that have not yet occurred.
In contrast to Zelensky’s public demeanor toward strikes inside Russia, the Ukrainian leader has privately “proposed going in a more audacious direction,” as The Washington Post noted on May 13. The Post further reported that Zelensky has suggested “moving Ukrainian ground troops into enemy territory” to enact military occupation of Russian villages, as well as suggesting that Ukraine bomb the Druzhba pipeline, a pipeline that transfers Russian oil to Hungary.
Also, the Ukrainian head of state is “privately pining” for more advanced missiles from the West that can more easily reach targets past the borders of Russia. According to one document, Zelensky “expressed concern” to Ukrainian General Valeri Zaluzhny in February that “Ukraine does not have long-range missiles capable of reaching Russian troop deployments in Russia nor anything with which to attack them.” Due to the recent Discord Leaks, these plots and discussions have been brought to the public’s attention, exposing Zelensky’s behind-the-scenes plans to escalate against Russia. In the meantime, there have been blatant Ukrainian attacks inside Russia that deserve mentioning.
Attacks Inside Russia
In December of last year, Ukrainian drone attacks struck two Russian airbases deep inside the Russian mainland, killing three personnel and damaging a small number of aircraft stationed at the bases. The first attack struck the Engels-2 airbase in the region of Saratov in southern Russia, while the second occurred at the Dyagilevo airbase in the city of Ryazan. Significantly, both military bases were located hundreds of miles away from the Russia-Ukraine border, showcasing Ukraine’s willingness to strike far beyond the boundaries of the current conflict.
Various air incursions into Russian territory operated by Ukraine have been a familiar occurrence thus far in the war. Most notably, the recent drone explosions over the Kremlin buildings in the early morning of May 3 — an incident for which Kyiv has repeatedly denied responsibility. The day after the Kremlin incident, there were several drone attacks reported by Russian media in the Voronezh and Rostov oblasts, including one on an oil refinery.
On April 30, four civilians were killed by Ukrainian shelling in the Russian village of Suzemka, a town located a mere five miles away from the border in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast. The following day, a train derailment caused by a mysterious explosion was reported by government officials in the region. While Ukraine’s bombing of Russian civilians is not as common as unmanned drone strikes on targets of strategic value, these incidents are nonetheless dangerous, as they have the possibility of provoking a deadly Russian response. That being said, Russian President Vladimir Putin has generally taken a calm and reserved approach in response to such attacks.
Just recently, four Russian aircraft were reportedly shot down in an incredibly rare occurrence, killing all four crews aboard. Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior advisor to Zelensky, without directly claiming responsibility, described the incident as "justice” and “instant karma.” Although the skirmishes happened much closer to the border, they still highlight the eagerness wielded by Kyiv to attack inside the Russian Federation.
Of course, all of the attacks mentioned in this article are not the only ones to have occurred on Russian territory. There have been multiple instances in which Ukraine has attacked Crimea. Most significant of all was the detonation of a truck bomb on the Kerch Bridge in early October 2022.
Targeted Assassinations and Attempts
In August of last year, Darya Dugina, the daughter of the Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin, was murdered in a car bomb attack in Moscow’s suburban area. Her father, of course, was the intended target all along. Later reporting in October by the New York Times exposed the fact that U.S. officials believed Ukraine was behind the murder. According to the Times, American officials privately “admonished Ukraine” for the killing, claiming that the U.S. was “not aware of the plan ahead of time for the attack” that ultimately killed Dugina. Moreover, Russia’s intelligence service pinpointed a suspect, claiming that “Ukrainian operatives had contracted a Ukrainian woman, who entered Russia in July and rented an apartment where Ms. Dugina lived. The woman then fled Russia after the bombing.”
Earlier last month, an explosion rocked a cafe in St. Petersburg, killing popular blogger and Russian war veteran Vladlen Tatarsky and wounding thirty others. Ukraine denied its role in the bombing, but it’s difficult to rule out their collaboration, especially when considering the ominous comments made by high-level officials in Kyiv. In addition to the killing in St. Petersburg of Tatarsky, prominent Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin was recently struck by a car bomb, but fortunately for him, he survived. In both instances, Russian authorities claimed to have identified a suspect who ultimately admitted to collaborating with Ukraine.
Initially, Ukraine kept quiet about its involvement in these attacks. But as of late, not so much. Without naming names, Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov admitted that Ukraine has orchestrated the assassinations of prominent Russian individuals. “We've already successfully targeted quite a few people," Budanov said. "There have been well-publicized cases everyone knows about, thanks to the media coverage."
A week or so before the drone detonations over the Kremlin, a Ukrainian drone laden with explosives of Canadian origin, supposedly to assassinate Putin, crashed near Rudnevo Industrial Park in Moscow. According to Yuriy Romanenko, co-founder of a Ukrainian think-tank, the aircraft “flew through all the air defenses of the Russian Federation” before ultimately failing to achieve its goal. Romanenko also claimed that Ukrainian intelligence officials were planning to murder Putin in the weeks beforehand.
“Putin, we are getting closer,” he warned.
Conclusion: Unnecessary Escalations
Reacting to the attacks on airbases in December, Budanov delighted in the incident. “I’m very glad to see this,” he said in an interview with ABC News, adding that attacks inside Russia will go “deeper and deeper.” Similarly, in an interview with PBS News in April, Budanov declared that Ukraine doesn’t “need weapons from the Americans or anyone else to get to the Russians. We have enough Ukrainian means and weapons to do this,” he said. Budanov’s comment dispelled Zelensky’s notion that Ukraine doesn’t have the means to conduct strikes deep into Russian territory.
Some might suggest that Kyiv retains the right to attack Russian territory. After all, they are at war. But these individuals ignore one major aspect with regard to Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil: the Armed Forces of Ukraine are mainly supplied and armed by the U.S. government, a nuclear adversary of Russia. Needless to say, the Kremlin can easily construe aggression on its soil from Ukraine as aggression from the U.S., as it already has. There is a unique danger associated with these attacks, hence the apprehension behind closed doors from American officials.
Seemingly ignoring the possibility that incursions onto Russian soil could instigate a nightmarish situation, the West continues to provide Ukraine with advanced weaponry that could easily hit the Russian mainland. Great Britain has supplied Kyiv with Storm Shadow cruise missiles that have the capability of hitting targets up to 155 miles away.
In the end, Ukrainian aggression on Russian soil serves little to no strategic purpose for Ukraine’s war effort. The Biden administration, meanwhile, is doing nothing to prevent these attacks. Rather, they are actively supporting them by continually funding and supplying Ukraine’s military. Disregarding the danger associated with arming attacks on a nuclear adversary’s soil, the West is advancing toward a direct conflict with Russia.
I believe this country is big trouble on all sides. No fidelity left in any of our institutions. The longer this conflict continues, I believe more and more Americans are turning against this war in Ukraine. I believe there are kickbacks happening. So much corruption everywhere you look. We need to stop and take a step back where Ukraine is concerned!!