Translated material
Progressive madness
In uniform
Progressive madness
January 12, 2013 Alexander Golts
Interfax published this note on January 11: “Ships of the United Inter -Flot Group of the Russian Navy during joint maneuvers in the Eastern Mediterranean will work out the actions of the sea landing off the coast of Syria, Interfax told a source in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
According to him, one of the key tasks of the grouping maneuvers will be the rally of tactical episodes for the landing of several units of the Navy Marine Corps, the Airborne Forces, as well as military equipment from four landing ships of the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets. A separate topic of exercises will be working out the actions of the Russian landing in the reverse order - loading personnel and equipment into ships from the coast. ”
I really want to believe that the author is either deliberately (to give sensation), or simply by negligence mixed various elements of maneuvers. That in reality the ships of the Russian Navy only resemble the Syrian coast, imitating their readiness to land landing. The landing itself, as well as the return of landing to ships, will be held at training grounds on the Black Sea coast of Russia. After all, if the Russian bosses have seriously planned to conduct "combat" maneuvers in Syrian territory - this is complete madness. Even if we are not talking about the political context of the landing of Airborne Forces and Marine Corps in the country where there is a full -scale civil war, it is complete madness from a military point of view. On four large landing ships, you can place the maximum reinforced battalion. This, of course, is not enough for any large-scale military operation. The only rational assumption is that the landing will land to take control of the airport for the mass evacuation of Russian citizens (and for this modest task, there is barely enough forces). The press has already reported that now a crisis group in the Foreign Ministry is planning such an operation. But if the paratroopers are supposed to be used in this way, to report them in advance - it is intentionally set them up. And it seems that such a blow is already waiting.
On the day when this note about maneuvers appeared, Interfax published another one. In it, a certain military-diplomatic source reported: the insidious anti-Russian forces recruit "persons of Slavic origin, having an idea of military service, familiar with air defense systems and knowing how to handle weapons." These persons should supposedly portray the mercenaries delivered on Russian ships who fought for Assad and were captured. And so, despite the fact that the military is in the course of preparing provocations, they will still send the sea infantry and the Airborne Forces to the Syrian shores.
In such a context, everything that happens looks like an element of endless and rather meaningless propaganda-diplomatic games, in which Moscow has played recently with pleasure. After all, it turns out that in order to demonstrate the flag at a hot point and at the same time wound the opponents of Assad, the Russian military is sent to the Mediterranean with a muddy mission immersed in a propaganda fog. They send to where they, due to limited forces and funds, may be in the role of hostages.
A couple of months ago, I would not seriously analyze the notes of my colleagues, forcing to suspect the Russian authorities of obvious recklessness. But in the light of the adoption of the "anti -Sirot law" and the Law on Foreign Agents and Gosmmen, no madness already looks completely incredible. Including the landing "near the Syrian shores."