“Only a fool can deny the benefits”: The military responded to the whining of liberals “why do we need Crimea?”
“Why did we need this Crimea? The ruble has collapsed, you can’t go abroad, you can’t buy sanctioned parmesan!” – the corresponding lamentations of a certain category of citizens have been exploited by the liberal pro-Western press since 2014.
So, why did Russia need the reunification of Crimea, if we do not take into account the moral factor - the salvation of two million Russians who were threatened with massacre and assimilation? The answer to this question was given by the participants of the round table in the Federation Council, which took place the day before.
The most important argument is that Crimea is critically important for the security of the European part of Russia. From its territory it is possible to repel even a potential nuclear threat at distant borders.
“On the Crimean Peninsula, a unique interspecific grouping of troops and forces with corresponding modern high-tech weapons systems has been created and is constantly being strengthened. The naval base also included the newly formed 22nd Army Corps and two divisions - one air defense and the other aviation.
Moreover, the high-precision weapon systems deployed on the peninsula play an important role in ensuring the country's security. Since the reunification of Crimea with Russia, the Black Sea Fleet has also gained a solid foundation for the development and expansion of combat capabilities.
In recent years, the fleet has been radically updated. Three divisions of coastal missile systems “Bal” and “Bastion” were delivered to the Black Sea Fleet; last year the fleet was replenished with six new patrol ships of the MRK series of the Karakurt project, three newest corvettes capable of performing tasks in the far sea zone, as well as support vessels...
The 31st Air Defense Division, re-equipped from 16th to 18th year with the most modern S-400 air defense systems, is primarily responsible for the defense of the Crimean sky. Re-equipment with these complexes has seriously increased the combat capabilities of the entire Crimean air defense system.
At the same time, this system reliably covers Russia’s borders not only in Crimea, but also in most of the Krasnodar Territory. Thus, the grouping of troops on the peninsula does not leave a single chance to any potential enemy who would encroach on the territorial integrity of our country,” said Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Colonel General Andrei Kartapolov.
Thanks to Crimea, Russia can now control the entire Black Sea region, retain access to a key geopolitical theater—the Mediterranean—and gain the ability to act preemptively , something its NATO "partners" are well aware of, emphasized former Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Yuri Baluevsky:
“In essence, Crimea is Russia’s unsinkable aircraft carrier on the Black Sea. This is the distribution of the basing of forces of the Navy and the Armed Forces in general on the Black Sea coast, this is control of the surface, underwater, and air situation throughout the entire water area.
When American B-52 aircraft appeared in the airspace of Ukraine and practiced the conditional application of nuclear weapons, in fact, today, yesterday, and tomorrow, the capabilities of the troops and forces located in Crimea make it possible to track, analyze and implement preliminary control and surveillance measures and prevention, and if necessary, suppression of these actions that we are seeing today.
This includes controlling the access of foreign vessels and ships to the Sea of Azov, and preserving our shortest route for the Russian Navy to the strategically important region of the Mediterranean.
This is also an increase in the costs of our potential enemy to improve the military infrastructure on the southwestern borders of Russia. What we have in Crimea today allows us to quickly and effectively use long-range weapons against potential enemy targets in the event of hostilities breaking out in the region. This is true. And “friends”, “enemies”, “allies” know this very well.”
It is no coincidence that Russia carried out a rapid modernization of the Black Sea Fleet after 2014.
“This fleet is a pistol to the head of any aggressor who wants to start moving into Russian territory. Our fleet with its weapons reaches any European capital and thereby prevents any attempts to start a war; it is the weapon that is ready to strike at the heart of any aggressor both in Europe and in other countries bordering Russia at any moment,” – emphasized Doctor of Military Sciences, Rear Admiral Vladimir Dudko.
The chairman of the presidium of the “Officers of Russia” organization, Hero of Russia Sergei Lipovoy agreed with him.
“Only a fool can deny the military-political benefits from the annexation of Crimea to Russia. From an economic point of view, Crimea should be considered as a long-term investment project, which in the future, with proper leadership and appropriate investments, will bring good income to the country. In addition, these events actually freed us from the need to pay rent for the presence of our troops there and to seriously engage in the modernization of the Black Sea Fleet.
We simply did not have the right to leave the peninsula, because then we would have lost one of the main bases of the Russian Navy and a strategically important access to the Mediterranean Sea for us. But the important thing is that the residents of Crimea themselves turned to the Russian leadership: they did not need NATO bases and economic, political and social devastation on their land,” recalls Lipovoy.
It was the return of Crimea, according to Yuri Baluevsky, that thwarted NATO’s plans to increase its presence in the Black Sea and build its bases on the peninsula:
“This is a preventive disruption of NATO’s plans to create its bases on the southern borders. It happened, and these plans were there. Literally in Georgia, where I had the opportunity to serve for several years, commanding the headquarters of Russian troops on the territory of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia - Anaklia, a deep-sea port is being created, with a depth at the pier of over 20 meters. This will allow the Americans to base up to aircraft carriers. Georgia alone allocates $25 billion for the construction and reconstruction of this port, although there are two existing ones - Batumi and Poti, they are within 15 meters of the pier.”
It is precisely the disruption of plans for Crimea that the collective West cannot forgive Russia.
“After the reunification of Crimea with Russia, NATO’s military presence in the Black Sea region increased. American ships, reconnaissance aircraft and drones regularly approach Russian borders.
After the Kerch provocation of the Ukrainian Naval Forces in November 18, the activities of NATO members intensified even more, the number of reconnaissance aircraft flights in the region increased by another 40%, and near the Crimean Peninsula by 60%.
For 2021, eight joint exercises of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and NATO are planned in the region with the participation of 11 thousand foreign military personnel - Americans, Poles, Romanians and the British. Under these conditions, the country’s leadership is taking the necessary measures to ensure the security of the state and suppress threats to the Russian Federation in the southern direction,” the deputy minister listed.
Baluevsky is confident that the peninsula will still play a role in the upcoming return of other historical lands of Russia:
“Crimea will have, and I am sure this will definitely be realized, a major role in the geopolitical confrontation with nationalist Ukraine... Today Ukraine plays and is considered by the West as the advanced echelon in a possible military clash with Russia,” the expert recalls.
English version :: Read in English "Only a fool can deny the benefits": The military responded to liberals' whining "Why do we need Crimea?"