The West thinks it called Russia’s bluff.

Western officials believe Moscow’s threat to use tactical nuclear weapons in defense of its territories is all bluster and see weakness in Russia’s hesitancy, giving new rise to the push to help Kyiv retake the Crimean Peninsula.

Anonymous officials said the White House is becoming more comfortable with assisting Kyiv the take on Russian forces on the peninsula, The New York Times reported. 

The feeling in Washington is Russia would not follow through on its threat of using its tactical nuclear weapon arsenal to defend Crimea, the home port of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. The peninsula has also provided Russia another launching pad for its missile barrages fired deeper inside Ukraine.

TRENDPOST: The Trends Journal has reported extensively on how the Ukraine War continues to expand and how – with each new weapon shipment from the West – Kyiv becomes bolder and bolder about its prospects. (See “UKRAINE’S FOREIGN MINISTER ADMITS BOMBING CRIMEA BRIDGE” 18 Oct 2022, “WHITE HOUSE GAVE PUBLIC GREEN LIGHT TO UKRAINE TO BOMB CRIMEA BRIDGE, DID BRITAIN PLOT ATTACK” 11 Oct 2022 and, “ZELENSKY SAYS UKRAINE WAR WILL END WHEN RUSSIA LEAVES CRIMEA” 16 Aug 2022.)

We’ve noted that Zelensky said in August that the conflict with Russia will only end after Kyiv liberates Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.

“Crimea is Ukrainian, and we’ll never give up on it,” Zelensky said, adding that Kyiv is “constantly adding new components to the formula of liberating” the area.

It is worth noting that the Western media frequently sells the lie that Crimea was illegally annexed, despite 97 percent of the population voting to leave Ukraine. 

“This Russian war against Ukraine and against the entire free Europe began with Crimea and must end with Crimea—with its liberation,” Zelensky said.

Crimean Bridge to be Targeted Again?

There has already been indication that the U.S. has approved strikes on Crimea in recent months. 

The Grayzone, an investigative news website, reported that it obtained an April 2022 presentation that showed British intelligence drew up plans on how the bridge could be taken out. The website noted that the truck bombing was different from the strategy laid out in the British plans.

Philip Breedlove, the U.S. general who was NATO’s former supreme allied commander in Europe, called the Kerch bridge a “legitimate target.” 

He was quoted in The Times of London in July saying, “Several people I have spoken to say ‘dropping’ [destroying] Kerch bridge would be a huge blow to Russia. Kerch bridge is a legitimate target.”

The website noted that five days before the attack on the bridge, Laura K. Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary of defense, was asked if Kyiv assured the U.S. that it would not target infrastructure inside Russia. She said it is important to recognize that “Crimea is Ukraine.”

The U.S. officials told the Times that the U.S. is specifically arming Ukrainians to have the weapons needed to retake Crimea, including additional HIMARS and Bradley fighting vehicles. 

Seth G. Jones, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Times that these weapons can help move forces down major roads because these forces would face “significant fire from Russian positions.”

TRENDPOST: Russia responded to the paper’s report and said it would be “extremely dangerous” if Ukrainian forces begin to target Crimea. 

“The mere discussion of allowing Ukraine to be supplied with arms that would allow it to attack Russian territory” would take the conflict to a new level, which would not “bode well for global and pan-European security.”

Ned Price, the former NBC News contributor and “cofounder” of National Security Action, the “advocacy group” for ex-Obama administration officials looking for a paycheck, is currently back in government and a spokesman for the State Department. 

He was asked about Crimea on Wednesday, and he responded that Washington was supplying Ukraine the weapons it needs to defend its territory.