Moscow's border gamble: Redirecting defences to Ukraine front
Moscow has taken a drastic step by stripping its border with China of modern weaponry, which it had previously guarded closely, for the ongoing war efforts in Ukraine. This move has exposed Russia to a potential strike from the United States, which could come from the direction of the Pacific or Alaska.
"If the Chinese had the idea of annexing the Siberian riches of the Russian vassal, Vladimir Putin would have nothing there to stop them," assesses "Wprost," emphasizing that "Putin believed so much in a lifelong alliance with Beijing that he broke with the iron rule of Russian foreign policy, in place since the border war with China in the 1960s."
Satellite images from Japanese military bloggers show that Russia no longer possesses the modern weapons that were kept for years in areas east of Novosibirsk to Vladivostok and Sakhalin. The rocket launchers have been withdrawn inland for the war efforts in Ukraine.
"The systems from the base of the 589th Air Defence Regiment in Nakhodka, which had previously secured the strategically important port in nearby Vladivostok, have also been sent to Ukraine," the newspaper lists, citing information from Japan.
"The Chinese are using Moscow to conduct a diversionary war aimed at diverting the USA's attention from Chinese expansion in Asia," writes "Wprost."
Russia's actions indicate that it is in a challenging position. By exposing areas that have been guarded for years, Putin is exposing himself to a potential American strike from the Pacific and Alaska, comments the weekly.
