#2 I'd suggest that lobbing a non-nuclear Rubezh ICBM was a direct response to the ATACMS/Storm Shadow escalation by Ukraine/NATO.
There's a range of asymmetric options available to the Russians/BRICS depending on what their consensual timeline / endpoint entails. This article mentioned the use of "pirate" drones. They could just as easily crash the US market over Thanksgiving weekend (when the rest of the world stock markets are open), set off a flux compression generator in the Square Mile, place an embargo on sales of rare earths, processed uranium fuel rods, or simply ammonium nitrate fertilizer.
I used to red team a lot. The Russians/BRICs are playing very conservatively given their range of options available. |