Exclusive: Russia’s Axis Stretches to Red Sea From Black Sea

Talk about intersectionality. Highlighting new military alliances for 2024, the sinking of a Russian ship in Crimea in the Black Sea is prompting calls for Yemen’s Houthi rebels to take out a British destroyer 2,000 miles to the south, in the Red Sea.“We should, through the Iranian proxies of the Houthis, sink the British [HMS] Diamond in the Red Sea,” Moscow military analyst Yuri Barantchik wrote to his 58,000 followers on Telegram. “Russia can transfer both the latest anti-ship weapons and instructors from among the retired Russian Defense Ministry specialists.”In an axis that runs to the Red Sea south from the Black Sea, Russia is allied with Iran, Hamas, and the Houthis. On the other side are America, Britain, the European Union, and Israel. To pressure Israel to suspend its war on Hamas, the Houthis attacked 17 civilian vessels over the last month, most near the Red Sea’s southern chokepoint.With most big shipping companies rerouting around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, America leads Operation Prosperity Guardian, a multinational naval campaign aiming to keep the Red Sea open. On December 15, His Majesty’s Ship Diamond shot down a drone launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen. Britain’s Defense Ministry said it was the first time in decades that the Royal Navy had shot down an air target in anger.Moscow’s angry calls for revenge come as Britain’s Storm Shadow and French long-range cruise missiles are causing severe damage to Russia’s military in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed a decade ago.In the pre-dawn hours of December 26, a British Storm Shadow is believed to have sunk the Novocherkask at dock in Fedosia, Crimea. Amateur video of the massive, mushroom explosion immediately went viral around the world. However, local authorities initially said that only one man was killed and windows were broken. Days later, local news media reported that the explosion killed 74 and wounded 27. Engulfing 4,700 artillery shells and rockets in the ship’s hold, the mammoth blast also took out a minesweeper ship docked nearby.The day after the explosion, two Black Sea Fleet ships steamed east from Fedosia, destined for the relative safety of Novorossiysk, the Black Sea naval base on Russia’s mainland. The Novocherkask was a landing ship, the latest of four to be sunk by Ukraine over the last year. With these losses, Russia has lost the capacity to launch major amphibious landings on Ukraine’s Black Sea Coast.“This latest destruction of Putin’s navy demonstrates that those who believe there’s a stalemate in the Ukraine war are wrong,” Britain’s defense secretary, Grant Shapps, told Sky News after the attack. “They haven’t noticed that over the past four months, 20 percent of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been destroyed.” Earlier in the fall, Ukrainian missile attacks forced Russian war ships out of the Western Black Sea, allowing Ukraine to restore sea borne grain shipments.The British official’s crowing prompted Mr. Barantchik and other Russian “‘milblogers” to demand revenge. He wrote on Telegram that “Novocherkask will not remain unanswered: Russia is ready to raise the stakes in the game…The attack on the port of Feodosia was carried out not by Ukraine, but by Britain (British missiles, British and American satellite reconnaissance, missile guidance by British officers).” He charged. “The Ukes were entrusted with pressing the button, but without the British specialists they would hardly have succeeded.”Calling on the Kremlin, “to officially declare that Russia’s patience with the antics of the West is over,” Mr. Barantchik said that if the Houthis are unable to sink the Diamond, Russian Mig fighters or Tupolev bombers should attack the British warship with Kinzhal (Dagger) guided missiles. To date, the Houthis are not known to have carried out actions for Russia. Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, President Putin’s birthday, but that may be just a coincidence.In contrast, Iran has sold Russia thousands of Shahed drones. In addition, South Korea says that North Korea has sent to Russia about 2,000 shipping containers of arms — anti-tank and anti-air missiles, artillery and mortar shells, rifle and short-range ballistic missiles. United Nations Security Council resolutions — approved with Russian support — ban countries from trading weapons or other military equipment with North Korea.Last week, Ukrainian officials said they had evidence that Russia fired two North Korean-made short-range ballistic missiles from behind Russian lines into Ukraine. One hit an empty field at Zaporizhzhya. The other hit buildings at Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.Ukraine ignores Russian threat and continues to fire Western-supplied cruise missiles at Russian targets. A favorite target is Crimea, a region that President Zelensky identified as a priority for 2024. Isolating Crimea and destroying Russian military capabilities “is extremely important for us” Mr. Zelensky said in a New Year’s interview with the Economist. In the last 10 days, Ukrainians firing American-made Patriot missiles shot down five Russian Sukhoi fighter bombers.Last Thursday, Ukraine said it used cruise missiles to take out a Russian command center at Saky air base and a radar station near Yevpatoriya. Sevastopol’s governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, described the two Crimea attacks as “the most massive in recent times.” Judging by the number of ambulances marshaled at Saky, the number of killed and wounded may be over 20.The missiles apparently were launched from Ukrainian jets about 150 miles to the north. The Ukrainian Air Force commander, Mykola Oleshchuk, posted a video of smoke rising from the explosion at Saky and said: “Thanks again to the Air Force pilots and everyone who planned the operation for perfect combat work.”

Exclusive: Russia’s Axis Stretches to Red Sea From Black Sea

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