Russia seems to be in deep trouble at the moment in terms of the conflict it caused itself in February of this year. But according to intelligence sources, Vladimir Putin is preparing a strong, perhaps desperate, but certainly sensational response in an attempt to turn the fortunes of the war in Moscow's favor.
It is not known when this response from the Kremlin will happen, but the European chancelleries and Washington are clear that it is a real possibility, with dramatic consequences and that probably has the potential to further expand the conflict.
According to sources, cited by the British Mirror, the options considered are mainly two, one more disturbing than the other.
Such a maneuver could happen after the formalization of the unilateral union of the Ukrainian regions where the referendum took place, more precisely in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, something that could also happen on September 30, when Putin is expected to address the people again his.
Western leaders are already directly accusing Russia of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipeline in Baltic waters, but according to intelligence, something similar could also happen to underwater cable lines that enable global communication.
The Russian army has the technical possibility. The cable lines do not pass far from the pipeline's route in the Baltic, where Russia has two important bases, that of St. Petersburg and especially that of Kaliningrad, the territory bordering Poland.
The Kremlin also has the right tools. St. Petersburg is home to a new fleet of underwater drones, while the Belgorod submarine is designed specifically for attacks on underwater cables, as it descends to depths impossible for similar vehicles.
Their damage would cause major problems, especially the Internet, with unpredictable consequences, starting with the financial markets.
The same sources also add the possibility of a limited-power, tactical nuclear attack, perhaps in an isolated and sparsely populated area of Ukraine.
A taboo possibility in modern conflicts until recently, but now not ruled out, as the last weapon of a desperate regime that clearly could not survive a humiliating defeat.