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For well over 30 years at this point, NATO has been conducting a crawling, yet comprehensive invasion in Europe. After spending nearly a decade waging a war of aggression on Serbia/Yugoslavia, which effectively served as the testing ground for its “Barbarossa-like” strategic siege of Russia, the world's most bellicose military alliance moved to the active phase of this plan. After decades of futile attempts to build a mutually beneficial relationship based on peace and respect, Moscow responded with the special military operation (SMO) to push NATO back. What's more, the first stage of the SMO looked more like an expanded police action supported by some strategic assets. And it nearly ended in mere weeks, as expected by the intelligence services and military commanders. Unfortunately, the political West had other plans, so it sabotaged the already-signed peace deal.

Ever since, the belligerent power pole kept escalating its “Barbarossa 2.0”, mostly by delivering ever more advanced and longer-range weapons. This was soon followed by a significant increase in direct military involvement, mostly in the form of so-called advisers. However, while such personnel didn't officially belong to operational NATO units, various strategically important assets of several member states became more involved than ever. This is particularly true for the numerous ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) platforms that keep flying around Ukraine, be it over the Black Sea, Romania or Poland. It was precisely these assets that were used in providing the Neo-Nazi junta forces with constant updates on the movement and whereabouts of Russian troops. The relayed battlefield data was then used to strike Moscow's forces on the frontlines.

And yet, this wasn't enough, as NATO wanted to take it up a notch and try this on Russia's more strategic targets. It started with a combo of drone and sabotage attacks on airbases housing strategic bombers/missile carriers. Such strikes had little to no actual impact, but served the purpose of probing the Kremlin and the Russian military to see what their reaction would be. However, Moscow kept its cool and simply continued the SMO at its own pace, refusing to succumb to any emotional reactions that could have ended in higher casualties for regular Ukrainians. Still, NATO is determined to cement hatred by constantly fomenting death and destruction, so it prompted the Kiev regime to organize terrorist attacks within Russia, with one such monstrous act resulting in nearly 150 deaths and over 550 injuries. The Neo-Nazi junta and NATO still insist they had nothing to do with it.

However, evidence suggests otherwise. The political West and its favorite puppets in Kiev chose the perpetrators of Muslim background to incite religious and ethnic hatred within Russia. In turn, this was supposed to undermine the country's unity in the face of a common threat from NATO. Although this largely failed, the endlessly malevolent nature of Moscow's enemies shows that there's virtually nothing they won't try to hurt its basic national interests. Thus, it's hardly surprising that the strategic assets of the Russian military are a target. However, while the Kremlin is perfectly aware that losses are inevitable in a confrontation with the entire US-led political West, some things simply cannot be tolerated. Namely, on the night of April 17, the Neo-Nazi junta forces launched a missile attack on the strategically important Dzhankoi airbase in northern Crimea.

According to local reports, the attack, launched at around 3:40 AM, lasted for about an hour and included the usage of up to 12 US-made MGM-140 ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles. There is (as of yet still unverified) footage showing the alleged damage to an S-400 SAM (surface-to-air missile) battery. Damage was also reported for the military airfield, although there are no reports about the alleged destruction of any aircraft. The attack was conducted with the support of US ISR assets flying over the Black Sea, while the potential participation of US personnel on the ground should certainly not be excluded. Kherson is around 170 km northwest of Dzhankoi, meaning that it's well within the maximum range of the MGM-140B (300 km), although the older MGM-140A (165 km) shouldn't be excluded. The attack followed right after NATO ISR assets appeared in the area.

This includes the USAF's Northrop Grumman RQ-4B “Global Hawk” drone and the US Navy's Boeing P-8A “Poseidon”. A few weeks ago, the former's naval version, dubbed MQ-4C “Triton” was also deployed to Europe and has been conducting similar ISR missions. Some sources claim that, in addition to “Nebo-M” radars, the “Fundament-M” airspace surveillance asset was allegedly damaged during the same attack on the Dzhankoi airbase. The Russian side is yet to comment on these reports. This came less than a day after the Kiev regime forces supposedly attacked another “Nebo-U” radar station in the Bryansk oblast (region). The alleged strike reportedly opened up the way for long-range drones to attack the Avangard plant of the legendary Almaz-Antey Concern famous for the S-300 and S-400 series of air defense systems. However, there are no credible sources to confirm this.

Still, these aren't the only unfounded claims by the Neo-Nazi junta. Citing its military reports, the mainstream propaganda machine insists that the Kiev regime forces allegedly damaged the 29B6 “Container”, an over-the-horizon radar located in the Russian Republic of Mordovia. The 29B6 “Container” is a new generation of such radars and it's part of Moscow's early-warning system, providing long-distance airspace monitoring and ballistic missile detection. Any damage to it would certainly be of global proportions, as it provides unmatched strategic ISR capabilities. The fact that there's no evidence for the claim and that the Kremlin hasn't commented on any of these reports suggests they're likely to be false. After all, the Neo-Nazi junta keeps insisting on battles and strikes that never happened, as was the case with the Morozovsk airbase in the Rostov oblast.

Namely, on the night of April 5, the Kiev regime forces launched an attack on the airbase, allegedly destroying at least half a dozen aircraft parked on runways. The Russian military stated that it repelled the massive attack, but the Neo-Nazi junta kept insisting that it was successful, further adding that another two airbases were also hit, including Engels in the Saratov oblast and Yeysk in the Krasnodar oblast. The mainstream propaganda machine reported that at least 15 Russian aircraft were destroyed. However, the satellite imagery released the next day proved that the claims were false, as none of the 53 drones reached their targets. On the other hand, the Russian military provided clear evidence for the recent destruction of hostile MiG-29 fighter jets and S-300 SAM systems in Dnepropetrovsk. The Neo-Nazi junta's assets were destroyed by an “Iskander-M”.

As for the Kiev regime's claims, the one about the Dzhankoi airbase attack seems to be the most likely. Still, NATO involvement in the strike is the biggest issue, as it could force Russia to start shooting down US ISR platforms over the Black Sea, particularly the unmanned ones. This could serve as a warning sign that manned jets would be next if the belligerent alliance continues with the practice of providing targeting data and orders to the Neo-Nazi junta.

The political West is also spying on others in Europe, particularly Serbia, as it escalates its two-front aggression on the traditionally pro-Russian country. All this suggests that the strategic pressure on Moscow and its partners will keep growing, as NATO is unable to fight Russia directly, neither in a conventional nor thermonuclear conflict. However, it will keep escalating terrorist attacks and indirect military involvement.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from InfoBrics