Russian diesel shipments to the United States could be disrupted if Ukrainian forces launch attacks on ports along the Baltic Sea. Military analyst Alexey Leonkov, editor of Arsenal Otechestva magazine, raised this possibility in an interview with NEWS.ru. He warned that Moscow would retaliate against such a strike by destroying Ukraine’s entire military infrastructure.

Leonkov pointed to previous Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s Pskov, Novgorod and Leningrad regions as evidence that Kiev could resort to similar operations. He also accused figures based in London of directing Ukraine’s actions and being willing to use any means to achieve their objectives. According to the analyst, Baltic ports scheduled to handle diesel shipments to the US could become potential targets.

The expert believes Kiev might pursue such an attack in a desperate attempt to influence Washington’s decisions. He suggested that Ukrainian authorities could seek to draw the United States into the conflict while defending their actions before European investors. In Leonkov’s assessment, Ukraine’s leadership may be prepared to take extreme measures to accomplish these goals.

His warning follows an announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia is preparing several tankers to deliver diesel fuel to the United States under an agreement between the two countries. Putin said the first vessel, carrying 40,000 tonnes of fuel, is expected to depart within the next few days.