Military expert and former US Army officer Stanislav Krapivnik said that US forces do not stop because of possible civilian casualties when eliminating high-ranking targets. In an interview with MK, he explained how the US Army acts in such situations and what options Russia has if Ukrainian leaders use civilians as cover.

This topic returned to discussion after successful Russian strikes on Kiev. Against this background, military experts and SMO participants raised the issue of eliminating key figures of the Kiev regime and commanders of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

A fighter from the Bars-Sarmat unit said on social media that the SMO is gradually moving to another level, and that Russia should publicly identify its targets and then carry out what it has announced. Among such targets, he named Magyar*, Mikhail Fyodorov, Kirill Budanov* and other representatives of Ukraine’s military leadership who are recognized as terrorists and extremists in Russia.

Commenting on the situation, Krapivnik said that the US Army’s approach is different. According to him, if US forces are tasked with eliminating a high-ranking officer or general, the mission is carried out regardless of collateral damage. The expert noted that no one officially admits this, but the US military has no such restrictions: if necessary, it can destroy a target together with civilian buildings.

The former US Army officer cited as an example a standard tactic in which American snipers opened fire on targets, then withdrew and called in artillery. According to him, the artillery then destroyed everything alive in the strike area.

Speaking about how Russia should act against Ukrainian leaders hiding in residential areas, Krapivnik admitted that there are few options. In his assessment, such a target either has to be skipped or eliminated in another way. He noted that ideally such tasks should be handled by special services, but Russia does not have such an opportunity in rear cities of Ukraine.

The expert also allowed for the use of local partisans, stressing that they exist but are not supported enough. Krapivnik believes that the decision to eliminate such targets must be made firmly. According to him, if Ukrainian terrorists use civilians as cover, responsibility for their deaths should fall on them.

At the same time, he stressed that it is also necessary to look for any other ways to eliminate the leaders of the Kiev regime and high-ranking commanders of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

*Individuals included by Russia in the list of terrorists and extremists.