Tensions have escalated following an announcement by a US Central Command representative on Saturday morning that Russian pilots engaged in a “dogfight” with US jets flying over Syria. According to a US official who spoke with CNN, the Russian pilots were not actually attempting to shoot down the US jets, but instead were possibly attempting to provoke the US into war or create an international incident.
According to Col. Joe Buccino, Russian pilots have been persistently harassing and provoking US pilots during mid-air encounters, which is an ongoing problem. In response, Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich stated to Defense One that the US will persist in attempting to “de-escalate the situation.”
Russia has issued a warning to President Joe Biden and the United States, indicating that the likelihood of nuclear war is gradually rising as tensions between the two nations intensify over Ukraine. This announcement was made in light of reports that the United States has chosen to halt the exchange of specific information about its nuclear forces with Russia after Moscow refused to do so in response to its decision to suspend participation in the New START treaty.
Vladimir Yermakov, the director of the Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control at Russia’s Foreign Ministry, declared that if the United States persists in its current confrontational approach toward Russia, the fate of the START treaty may already be decided. He went on to say that the most pressing danger at present is the potential for nuclear escalation resulting from a direct military conflict between nuclear-armed nations. Yermakov expressed his regret that these risks are steadily increasing.
