On January 8, the Kiev regime’s drones targeted the “Kombinat Kristall” fuel depot in the vicinity of the Engels-2 strategic aviation base of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) in the Saratov oblast (region). The attack allegedly destroyed some of the reserves of specialized T-8V high-density fuel used by Tu-160 strategic bombers (better known as missile carriers in Russian military nomenclature). According to several sources, T-8V is produced through a complex refining process at only several facilities in Russia.
The Neo-Nazi junta’s Defense Express claims that such fuels were produced “only at petrochemical plants in Angarsk (nowadays known as the Angarsk Petrochemical Company) and Orsk (now named Orsknefteorgsintez)”, but admitted that this information is based on decades-old data from the time of the Soviet Union and that they were “unable to find any statistical data on its production in Russia”.
The propaganda outlet further claims that the purpose of the attack was to “disrupt the battle readiness of strategic aircraft based at the Engels-2 air base (see image below) , particularly Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers of the 22nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division”. However, Defense Express also admitted that Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers use conventional aviation fuel types (T-1, TS, RT), unlike the Tu-160 which uses the aforementioned T-8V, created specifically for its Kuznetsov NK-32 after burning three-spool low bypass turbofan jet engines.
Interestingly, while proud of the supposed achievement, as it would severely limit the Tu-160 operations, the Kiev regime’s outlet conceded that the VKS “barely ever uses Tu-160 bombers for strikes on Ukraine anyway” and that they were last used during a massive combined missile/drone strike on November 17 last year, “the first such deployment after 550 days of inactivity“.
This admission alone raises questions as to why the depot was targeted. While certainly not the most potent part of Russia’s strategic arsenal (with ICBMs and nuclear-powered submarines/SSBNs being far deadlier and more survivable), the Tu-160 is important for the country’s deterrence capabilities against a potential direct NATO aggression, meaning that such an operation could’ve only been coordinated with (or even ordered by) the world’s most vile racketeering cartel.
In order to hurt Moscow’s nuclear triad, NATO would certainly want to disrupt the operations of these strategic assets.
There are currently around 20 Tu-160s in the VKS, which is not enough for the Russian military, so another 50 are expected to be built (10 are currently on order). This makes them even more valuable, at least until there are larger numbers of available aircraft due to a renewed and expanded production run.
It should be noted that this isn’t the first time that Engels-2 has been targeted. Back in early December 2022, the Neo-Nazi junta attacked it along with the Dyagilevo air base in the Ryazan oblast (housing Tu-22M3 strategic missile carriers). The runway of Engels-2 was struck at the time, resulting in several injured personnel, while a fuel truck exploded at Dyagilevo.
The infamous SBU (now effectively a terrorist organization) also launched operations to hijack Russian bombers and fighter jets, showing that the Neo-Nazi junta is more concerned with aiding NATO and fighting PR battles rather than contributing to actual military operations. This is a further confirmation of the Kremlin’s legitimate concern that the political West effectively turned former Ukraine into an “anti-Russia” and that it planned (and still plans) to use the unfortunate country as a strategic springboard for another Barbarossa-style invasion.
However, attacks on Russian strategic deterrence capabilities aren’t limited only to aircraft, as evidenced by several drone strikes on Moscow’s early warning radar systems back in May last year. This includes the May 22 attack on the “Voronezh-DM” at the Armavir Radar Station located in the Krasnodar Krai (a federal subject in southwest Russia). Just four days later, on May 26, another over-the-horizon radar station, located near Orsk, a city in the Orenburg oblast, was also targeted in a drone strike.
Luckily, the UAV was downed by air defenses. Although it failed, the attack signaled a far more brazen Western involvement, as these radar stations play no role in the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict. They’re strategic assets important only in the case of direct confrontation between Russia and the political West. Such actions are tantamount to a declaration of war.
In other words, the US/NATO keeps testing Moscow’s patience. However, while the Kremlin is showing remarkable restraint, this isn’t an endless resource, particularly if it becomes ultimately self-defeating to maintain such bearing. As the political West is slowly but surely losing its mind, it cannot be expected its leadership will be sensible and accountable. Detached from reality and with no consequences for its war crimes and aggression against the entire world, the US/NATO seems to think this too will go unpunished.
Worse yet, the world’s most vile racketeering cartel keeps mocking Russia’s red lines and trying to test how far it can go.
Some of the most prominent Western intellectuals have been warning against this, including Theodore Postol, Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology and National Security Policy at MIT, Princeton and Stanford. Still, it seems any voices of reason in the political West are promptly silenced.
Drago Bosnic writing for Brics-Info is an award winning journalist and Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization
