The conflicting narratives from each side prompted confusion about what really happened. It's extremely unlikely that Russia would completely fabricate this incident and even go as far as summoning the US military attaché in Moscow if it was entirely made-up. This very strongly suggests that something really did happen even though the US would prefer to keep mum about it. It's also a relief that there was no clash between these two nuclear superpowers' forces, especially considering the extremely tense ties between them brought about by the undeclared US-provoked missile crisis in Europe. It would be inaccurate to describe this as a non-incident but it also wasn't a crisis either, just a serious scandal. The US was very clearly trying to test the Russian Navy's defenses in the Northern Pacific.
Considering the fact that the incident took place near Urup and not near any of the Kuril Islands that Japan claims as its own, the US can't plausibly claim that it was "operating safely in international waters" since Russia's writ over Urup is universally uncontested even by Tokyo. It's curious to note that this happened the day after the US unveiled its latest Indo-Pacific strategy, suggesting that America was attempting to flex its muscles in Russia's part of this bi-oceanic space but was humiliatingly caught doing so and subsequently chased away in shame. Since the incident wasn't brought up during Saturday's call between their leaders, it seems as though President Putin understood that it most likely wasn't linked to their US-provoked tensions in Europe and hence thought not to discuss it.
All told, this scandal is worth discussing even if only to prove that the US will dangerously saber-rattle against Russia's conventional forces even within its own maritime territory irrespective of the current tensions between them. This speaks to America's arrogance, which is a holdover from its fading unipolar hegemony that US leaders still cling to in delusion. There is absolutely no way that Russia would ever accept any foreign military forces, let alone a US nuclear-powered submarine, intruding in its territory. The Russian Navy should be commended for promptly responding to this unprecedented provocation in the calmest but most professional way possible that avoided unnecessarily escalating the situation while the US should be harshly condemned for irresponsibly risking World War III.
Andrew Korybko American political analyst
The relocation of Russian MiG-31 fighters equipped with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles to the Kaliningrad region is connected with the need to provide an operational strike against NATO headquarters in Europe. If necessary, the Russian fighters will be ready to take to the skies within a few minutes and launch the Kinzhal hypersonic missile, capable of hitting any target in almost all of Europe. Such arguments have been advanced by Forbes reporters, who argue that the situation for NATO has reached a critical point.
“MiG-31K fighters are usually not deployed at the Russian base in the Kaliningrad region. The Kaliningrad region is well defended by a powerful group of ground forces, and there are also ships from the Russian Navy's Baltic fleet, as well as short-range Iskander missiles capable of carrying a nuclear charge. It is logical to assume that the deployment of the MiG-31K in Kaliningrad is most likely a targeted NATO warning. The threat of retaliation is obvious if the alliance suddenly thinks of intervention in response to possible Russian military actions in Ukraine, "Forbes said, citing Sebastian Roblin.
Given the specificity of the Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, the most likely target will be (and probably has already become) the NATO headquarters located in Europe. Obviously, the West is well aware that the situation for the military blockade is critical. As a result, the alliance immediately announced that it intended to abandon the escalation of the situation near the Russian borders and in the Donbass.