US concerned about Ukraine's strikes on Russian radar stations – Washington Post

The United States fears that recent Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian nuclear early warning systems could destabilize the situation, reported The Washington Post with reference to unnamed American officials.

"The United States is concerned about Ukraine’s recent strikes against Russian ballistic missile early-warning sites," the source said.

Washington has expressed its concern to Kyiv over two attempts to attack radar stations that provide conventional air defense, as well as warnings about nuclear launches from the West that took place last week, according to The Washington Post journalists. This concerns the strikes on radars in Armavir (Krasnodar Krai) and Orsk (Orenburg Oblast).

"These sites have not been involved in supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. But they are sensitive locations because Russia could perceive that its strategic deterrent capabilities are being targeted, which could undermine Russia’s ability to maintain nuclear deterrence against the United States," said the American official.

A Ukrainian official familiar with the matter told The Washington Post that Russia uses radar stations to monitor Ukrainian military activity — specifically, Kyiv's use of drones and missiles. He also confirmed that the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense was responsible for the strikes. A Ukrainian government representative said that the purpose of the strikes was to weaken the ability of the Russian Federation to monitor the activities of the Ukrainian military in the south of the country.

American officials, in turn, said that they "are sympathetic to Ukraine’s plight" – representatives of the administration are actively considering whether to lift restrictions on the use of weapons provided by the United States to launch strikes on Russian territory.

But if the Russian early warning system is blinded by the Ukrainian attacks, even partially, it could damage the strategic stability in relations between Washington and Moscow, said one of the interlocutors of the publication.

"Russia could think it has a diminished ability to detect early nuclear activity against it, which then could become an issue," he said.

On April 17, Ukraine's military intelligence attacked the Russian over-the-horizon radar station Container in Mordovia with drones.

On May 26, a DIU drone attacked the long-range target detection radar station Voronezh M in the city of Orsk, Orenburg Oblast – 1,800 km from the border with Ukraine.

Radio Liberty's investigative project Skhemy earlier showed the consequences of the attack on the Russian radar station Voronezh M.