Russian attacks on Ukraine are increasingly directed against civilians / Article

General Armageddon

Ukraine continues to suffer widespread Russian attacks on both civil and energy infrastructure and the Ukrainian people are urged to do so save electricity.

“Ukrainian energy analysts believe that Ukrainian power grids are being attacked in a very strategic way. Not big power plants are being attacked, but weak points, connections, which, once blown up, have a great impact and are It is difficult to restore the electricity supply, “said Bērziņa.

“Ukrainian energy experts suspect that, on the Russian side, their former Soviet-era colleagues are pointing the finger at who these weak points in the Ukrainian electricity grid are and that they should be blown up to divide Ukraine, for to separate particularly affected regions, to create psychological trauma and fear in big cities, “he explained.

For a relatively long time, it has been reported in public space that life is almost normal in Kiev and Lviv, for most people the war does not affect their daily life, but the increasing attacks on energy infrastructure change it significantly. .

“This is due to the fact that the Russian leadership’s approach to Ukraine is changing in general. It has arrived a new general, Sergey Surovikinand its approach is directly against civilian infrastructure and civilian populations.

He was nicknamed “General Armageddon” in the Syrian war. His brutal approach, which directly affects civilians, is now more visible throughout Ukraine, “Berziņa explained.

In addition, Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Russian mercenary organization “Wagner” is fighting in Ukraine, but has previously operated in Africa, Syria and elsewhere, as well as Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, who previously criticized Russia’s serious failures in the war, to insist on such a much more brutal approach. .

“If those two voices, Kadyrov and Prigozhin, want to attack the civilian population of Ukraine, and a new general with the crazy nickname” General Armageddon “is responsible for the war in Ukraine, then it can be even more attacks on civilians and infrastructure. civilians expected, “Berziņa admitted. .

The rest of the world should also worry about infrastructure

It is no secret that Europe, USA, Asia and the whole world are connected to each other by submarine electrical and communications cables.

The column of the expert Kristine Bērzina in the podcast “Fuse”.

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Kristīne Bērziņa, security policy expert and researcher at the Marshall Fund in Washington, will highlight the week’s most important events in the context of the world and Latvia in the Latvian radio podcast “Drošināťāt” each week in relation to the war in Ukraine, as well as those that they may have been lost in the mass of information, as well as commenting on why they are important and what impact it could be causing.

“Currently, over 95% of global communications, internet connections, phone calls go directly through cables. We think a lot about space, satellites and new technologies, but in reality, rather old-fashioned technologies – cables – connect our continents, they contribute to the growth of our economy and our society, “explained Bērziņa.

“Currently, we have to worry about both the electrical cables connecting the Nordic and Baltic countries, and the communication cables.

Example with “North stream“The explosion of a gas pipeline a month ago shows that very important infrastructure can be found under the sea, damaged and eliminated,” he said.

So far, there have been no major attacks on this infrastructure by Russia, but security circles have been concerned about this for several years, because Russia has the ability to significantly affect, disrupt or completely disrupt the operation of both electrical cables. than communication.

“The new Prime Minister of Great Britain is particularly concerned about this problem Risi Sunaks. Five years ago, when he was just an MP, he wrote a study on the safety of offshore cables and in the study he specifically describes Russia as a possible aggressor. Referring to this study, the British Navy is thinking about how to adapt to the prevention of this threat, which ships should be developed and purchased to better protect not only the British Isles, but also these critical infrastructures, “Bērziņa said.

Estonia and Finland are also actively involved in infrastructure protection planning. In the event of an attack by Russia, the country whose infrastructure has been damaged would have the right to request the activation of NATO Article Five, as it states that an attack on infrastructure on NATO territory is an attack on the NATO countries.

Football with the dirty ball

Along with threats to infrastructure, the world is currently concerned about Russia’s possible dirty bomb plans. A dirty bomb is a weapon that should be a classic ordinary explosive device with various powers, but radioactive materials are added to it, which can cause very destructive consequences.

Right now, Russia is playing “dirty ball” in an attempt to convince the world that Ukraine will use the dirty ball. The world is worried if Russia itself reveals its future plans.

“Many fear that Russia in this way shows its goal or intention to use the dirty bomb in Ukraine itself.

For months there have been rumors that radioactive substances could be used in Ukraine in the event of Russia’s defeat, “said Berziņa.

“Russia warns that Ukraine could use it, but internationally there is more concern that Russia itself uses it and shifts the blame to Ukraine. First, I would prepare my people for such dangerous things to come from. Ukraine, and then, after the explosion of the dirty bomb, I would blame Ukraine, “he explained.

The security policy expert pointed out that a similar experience had already been experienced after the horrors of Buch, when Russia tried to blame the killings, torture and everything else on the Ukrainians themselves, on the Ukrainian “fascists”. even if the Russian soldiers were guilty of it.

Furthermore, there are several reasons why it would not only be illogical, but also very disadvantageous for Ukraine to use such a bomb.

“First of all, Ukraine is lucky. With Russia looking set to lose Kherson, why would Ukraine use such a bomb beyond its current capabilities that could cause a huge worldwide backlash? Wouldn’t it be logical in the first place? Second, would Ukraine attack its own people with a radioactive bomb? It is unlikely, because in Ukraine the value of a person, an individual, is higher than in Russia. One could have expected such an action from Moscow, but not from Kiev “, explained Berziņa.

“The strategic question remains, who has access to such materials? Ukraine has now invited UN specialists to look, please check where something like this could be, all doors are open for you. Russia does not have a such an approach, “he said.

The expert assessed that the radioactive threat to Russia, like the issue of nuclear weapons, is like a trump card in a card game.

“If Russia loses, if Russia feels threatened, then this question comes up immediately. It can never be forgotten, and Russia will not let the world forget, that it has special nuclear weapons capabilities,” he said.