Russia uses long-range bombers in Mariupol

Russia said on Friday that it used long-range bombers on the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Russia has two types of long-range bombersㅡthe Tupolev TU-95 and TU-160. The exact model of the bomber has not been known, but there was no reason for Russian long-range bombers to appear over the sky of Mariupol. Russia has seized more than 90 percent of the port city. Ukrainian forces are putting up a stiff resistance at a handful of strongholds. There is no reason to launch a bomber if Russia does not intend to carpet bomb the city or plans to precisely strike strongholds. The appearance of TU bombers is a show of force. The Russian military has already shown all the strategies and actions that were deemed impossible to see in a war waged by a powerful nation in the 21st century. Therefore, the use of nuclear weapons by Russia may not be impossible. The message conveyed by the Russian TU bombers was, “We do what we want to do. We can do anything.”

Russia is faced with three troubles. The perception that “The Russian military turned out to be not so powerful after all” has widely spread around the world. Contrary to Russia’s intention, NATO is becoming stronger. Even Sweden and Finland have chosen to join NATO, and Germany vowed to carry out rearmament, reinforcing NATO’s military power. Russia cited NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe as a reason for invading Ukraine, but the military strength of NATO has been surprisingly poor. In terms of numbers, NATO’s military power was not a match for that of the Russian forces. Russia’s invasion into Ukraine was like planting Jack’s Beanstalk. The situation shows no sign of abating. The Russian army said it will launch a major offensive on Donbas, the Ukrainian army has not been intimidated. Nothing will change even if the offensive turns out to be successful.

The Russian army will only suffer damage to its reputation. A threat to use nuclear weapons means Russia ran out of cards to play. Russia already used the same tactic in the 1956 Suez Crisis, threatening to use nuclear weapons by saying they can do anything they want to do. What is very surprising is that threat worked out so well. Since the days of the Soviet Union, the West has always treated Russia cautiously like a hungry tiger even when the nuclear card was not played. Will it work this time as well? Or will Russia actually play the card this time?