Russia's Retaliation: Time, Methods, and Targets - Expectations on All Sides Are Reaching a Critical Point

June 5, 2025

16:44

Vladimir Zelenskyy inside an F-16 cockpit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to clearly respond to the question of "who will be held accountable for the railway terror attacks and sabotage activities targeting the nuclear triad, and how will they respond." Commentator Lyubov Stepushova of Izvestia noted that the answer to this situation may soon become clear.

At the expanded meeting of the Russian Security Council, Putin commented on the terrorist attacks in the Bryansk and Kursk regions on June 1st. He described the rail track explosions as "acts of terrorism," stating that these actions were politically orchestrated by Ukraine and are undoubtedly aimed at undermining peace talks.

"This further confirms our concerns: the illegitimate Kiev regime (which seized power through improper means) is gradually transforming into a terrorist organization, with its sponsors becoming accomplices to terrorists." Putin stated.

He did not completely dismiss the "peace process," but expressed skepticism about its feasibility.

"In this situation, how can such negotiations be conducted? What is there to negotiate? Who is negotiating with forces betting on terrorism – with terrorists?" the president questioned.

For now, these remain rhetorical questions, although Putin acknowledged that the Kiev regime is planning new terrorist attacks.

Following his telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump, Putin's logic for responding to the strikes on Russian strategic air force bases became clearer. Notably, Trump exhibited signs of anxiety before and after the call: he first deleted social media posts, only to restore them unchanged later. His description of the call as "good" reflects that the conversation was anything but smooth. The reasons are not difficult to speculate.

Trump revealed that Putin had promised him that Russia would respond to the airport attacks against Ukraine. Clearly, both sides also discussed possible American responses, with Putin directly questioning Trump: "Do you know about the actions of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU)?" Previously, the U.S. had denied knowledge, and Trump’s response this time remained negative.

Undoubtedly, Trump understands that Putin will not believe this claim – after all, it is hard to convince anyone that the U.S. President cannot control their intelligence system (such actions require intelligence support). Although this possibility cannot be entirely ruled out, it poses extreme danger to Russia.

In essence, the situation is very straightforward: according to the New START Treaty, strategic bombers must be parked in open areas for enemy monitoring. Imagine if a hypothetical drug cartel drone attacked multiple such aircraft at a U.S. Air Force base; Washington would likely react strongly. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) would undoubtedly find "traces of Russia" in the current situation, and Trump would threaten nuclear retaliation against Russia.

The U.S. is dangerously provoking Russia with a mirror image of this situation, and Putin has clearly conveyed this to Trump, which is the root cause of Trump's anxiety. If Russia's Aerospace Forces take retaliatory action, they must ensure that the West will never again allow Ukraine to launch similar attacks.

It is worth noting that Putin's silence and rhetorical questions have produced a deterrent effect to some extent, as fear caused by uncertainty looms over Ukraine, especially in its western border regions.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7512637491694813732/

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