Putin Ally Questions Russia's Red Line Threats: 'Why Humiliate Ourselves?'

A Kremlin propagandist has questioned why the Russian Foreign Ministry had accused the U.K. and the U.S. of involvement in a Ukrainian strike on a naval headquarters in Sevastopol, saying it only highlighted Moscow's lack of response.

Sergey Mardan, a Russian television host aligned with President Vladimir Putin, was responding to comments by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova that the attack was conducted "with the close co-ordination of American and British specialists" and that NATO satellite equipment and reconnaissance aircraft were used.

A Ukrainian military source told the BBC that British and French-supplied Storm Shadow missiles were used in the attack while Russia's Defence Ministry said five missiles were shot down by its air defences.

Amid a spike in attacks by Kyiv on Russian military targets in the peninsula occupied since 2014, a Ukrainian missile hit the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet on September 22, delivering a blow to the heart of the Russian Navy. Ukraine claimed it had killed dozens of officers, including fleet commander Admiral Viktor Sokolov, although he has since appeared on a Russian military channel.

In a Telegram post, Mardan criticized Zakharova's comments, writing, "the question is—why these statements? What's the logic?"

"If an attack on an important military facility is carried out by the United States and Great Britain, this is a reason to start a war or, at a minimum, conduct retaliatory strikes of headquarters, bases, warships and ports."

Moscow has repeatedly claimed that through their supply of weapons and intelligence, the U.S. and its NATO allies have become involved in the war in Ukraine.

"Is anyone expecting strikes on the (British) RAF base in Malta? Or at least on American military bases in the Baltic states?" Mardan said, "why humiliate ourselves?"

Britain no longer has an air base on Malta, its former colony in the Mediterranean.

The comments were shared on Telegram by pro-Ukrainian eastern European outlet Nexta, which posted "propagandist Mardan asks why the Russian Foreign Ministry humiliates itself so much. After all, everyone understands that there is nothing behind their warlike but empty phrases."

"The most important thing is that now the West also understands this, so Zakharova's mumbling about 'red lines' no longer scares anyone, but only causes a condescending smile," added Nexta.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry by email for comment.

Kyiv's forces have been launching near-daily strikes against Russian military targets in Crimea. Last week, they claimed to have knocked out an S-400 air defense missile battery as well as damaging a Russian landing ship and submarine.