Monday, March 7, 2022

Growing Risk Of A Close Encounter Between U.S. And Russia Forces As The Ukraine War Intensifies

A US Air force F-35A during refueling over Eastern Europe, February 28, 2022. US Air Force/Airman 1st Class Edgar Grimaldo  

Business Insider: Intensifying fighting in Ukraine raises the risk of a close encounter between US and Russian forces 

* In the days since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US military has stepped up its activity around Eastern Europe. 

* That means more US aircraft are operating around Ukraine as Russia conducts combat operations there. 

* The US and Russia now have a de-confliction hotline, but there's still a risk of a close encounter or a clash. 

The US and other countries have rushed to support Ukraine following Russia's renewed invasion on February 24, providing security assistance to Ukraine itself and bolstering their military presence along NATO's eastern flank. 

Those efforts mean more US and allied aircraft are operating near Ukraine as Russian military aircraft operate there, and their close proximity raises the chances of a close encounter that leads to a clash and possible escalation. 

The US "retains a number of channels to discuss critical security issues with the Russians during a contingency or emergency," a US defense official told Insider on Thursday. 

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: NATO planes are flying non-stop near Russia's borders .... Around-the-clock NATO air patrols fly to keep Russia at bay (Defense News). It would not take much for a miscalculation.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Russia and China have never been shy about testing borders and air defenses. Time to return the favor.

Fly right up to the boundary and fly along it. We send up planes. they have to send planes to check it out. the planes the Russians send can't be sent to Ukraine.

The Russian fly planes they break down and need maintenance. The more often we fly, the more often the Russian planes fly and need maintenance straining their logistics system and budget. It is a way of waging war without shooting...most of the time.

If we are lucky the Russians will have to pull resources from the Ukraine front and place them elsewhere to meet out sorties.

Anonymous said...

_Alas, Babylon!_ by Pat Frank 1959

The first post apocalyptic book and still relevant.