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Jun 1, 2025 Bulletin 360: Five Russian strategic airfields attacked, planes destroyed; possible Putin assassination attempt, terrorist attack on Russian passenger train, call Congress and the President Permalink for this bulletin (please forward!). Bulletins like this one go to our main mailing list. If you missed our most recent emails, they come in three forms and here they are:
Dear friends and colleagues -- Not our usual main subject, but this is an emergency. Earlier today, Ukrainian saboteurs launched simultaneous drone attacks on five Russian strategic airbases, damaging and destroying an unknown number of bombers and other airplanes. Ukrainian sources say 40 airplanes were destroyed including A-50 early warning and control aircraft, TU-95 "Bear" bombers, and TU-22 “Backfire” fast-attack bombers. New information and visuals are appearing minute-by-minute and we aren't trying to track it all, but suffice it to say this is a major turning point -- a "Pearl Harbor" moment for Russia and hence for the U.S. and the world. The Severomorsk naval base was also apparently hit, where explosions were reported. The attack comes the day before peace negotiations are (or were) supposed to start in Istanbul, and a day after attacks on Russian trains, resulting in a derailments that killed 7 people and injured 66. The timing suggests a major part of Ukraine's plan seems to be "derail" peace talks, either by provoking a major Russian response or by causing the Russians to pull out of the peace conference, or both, allowing Ukraine to save face. As of yesterday, I don't think we knew if Ukraine was even going to show up. This is apparently Ukraine's "proposal." It was personally "supervised" by Zelensky. It is highly likely that the drone attacks, which have been in preparation for 18 months, involved U.S. and/or U.K. intelligence assets and training. A week ago, there may have been an assassination attempt on Putin by dozens of drones. So says the Russian military. Today's attacks are well beyond the official Russian threshold for using nuclear weapons -- as they would be for the U.S. if major assets as part of the U.S. nuclear "deterrent" were destroyed. Scott Ritter's essay (h/t Steve Starr) on all this is to our view spot-on. ("Playing with Fire: Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb has crossed the threshold when it comes to triggering a Russian nuclear response. How Russia and the United States respond could determine the fate of the world," Scott Ritter, Jun 01, 2025). See also this Ukrainian article with photos, videos: "SBU spent 18 months preparing Operation Spider Web that damaged Russian bombers - sources," Jun 01, 2025. Here is a video of some of the drones launching. (Clearly somebody was there filming, so the Ukrainian claim that this was "all" done from Ukrainian territory is not true.) Here's a Russian article ("Kiev attacked military airfields in five Russian regions – MOD, Jun 01, 2025). Here's India Today: "Ukraine Launches Massive Drone Attack on Russian Aircraft, Dubbed 'Russia's Pearl Harbor'" Jun 1, 2025. We urge you to read Ritter's analysis. Our own opinion is that the risk of war between NATO and Russia is now very high, not just from this but also from recent naval confrontations in the Baltic. There certainly will be a response from Russia. This attack will reaffirm Russia's view that an armed, Western-aligned Ukraine represents an unacceptable security threat. How can we de-escalate the situation? Please call or write your senators and congresspersons and the White House ASAP about reining in what could be a runaway emergency, and share our this information with others. Our own analysis and views about this conflict are posted on our Ukraine page, as the occasion arises. We will post further updates there as time allows, probably tomorrow morning per usual. We strongly recommend the brilliant Glenn Diesen's essay posted this morning, "How Peace-Oriented Norway Learned to Stop Worrying and Love War." Read the whole thing. He does not hold back, and he has the personal experience and analysis to back up his strong remark that "....the collective consciousness of the Norwegian has taken on sociopathic traits with a lack of empathy, chronic lying, deceit, aggression, irresponsibility, and an absence of remorse." The same thing is happening in the United States and elsewhere in Europe. Please help wake up others. If you thought there could be arms control or disarmament without addressing the root causes of the Ukraine conflict, please think again. Thank you for your attention and best wishes, Greg Mello, for the Study Group |
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