It Is Not Accidental.

Considering the fact that Politico is a controlled rag, a euphemism for "free press", as most Western media are, such a piece is a dual-track "message" whose point is not to only naturally try to portray the US "in control", but also serves as an attempt to remove a responsibility for war crimes committed by the combined West in Donbass. While the title of the piece speaks for itself, U.S. approves of Ukraine striking Russian-occupied Crimea, passages like this are more important and indicative.

A senior administration official told NatSec Daily the U.S. supports strikes on Crimea if Kyiv deems them necessary. “We don't select targets, of course, and everything we've provided is for self-defense purposes. Any target they choose to pursue on sovereign Ukrainian soil is by definition self defense,” this person said. After your host checked to see if the administration considered the peninsula sovereign Ukrainian territory, the official replied: “Crimea is Ukraine.”

1. Pay attention to this good ol' trick of a "senior administration official". Never any names or titles. Just that--senior "official". It is not accidental, since, see next:

2. "Supporting" striking Crimea is a bridge too far for the United States, because there are plenty of the US assets in Europe and elsewhere which could be introduced to real strikes. 

3. The United States already has committed or supervised a copious number of the war crimes and crimes against humanity in and around Donbass and remaining incognito for some "officials", granted they are not made-up virtual reality figures, which you cannot put past any US media, is important since war crimes and crimes against humanity do not have statute of limitations. 

This is the issue a bunch of good ol' boys and girls from State Department, CIA (MI6) and Pentagon cannot wrap their brains around, because they still think that beating the crap with impunity from some third world backwater is everything it is about the war. It is not. The score is being kept and Russia has a very good memory--meaning names, positions, activity of those people in D.C. is well documented and attempts to distance themselves from atrocities committed by their Ukie SOBs will fail. Russia doesn't fight 404, Russia fights combined West headed by the United States and there are many charges which will be leveled against many people in D.C. E.g. as reported:

Several Russian soldiers involved in the military operation in Ukraine have been hospitalized with severe chemical poisoning, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday. Traces of Botulinum toxin Type B, which is an “organic poison of artificial origin,” have been discovered in samples taken from the servicemen, the ministry said, accusing Kiev of “chemical terrorism.” The Russian troops were “hospitalized with signs of severe poisoning” after being stationed near the village of Vasilyevka in Zaporozhye Region on July 31, the statement said. “The Zelensky regime has authorized terrorist attacks with the use of toxic substances against Russian personnel and civilians” following a string of military defeats in Donbass and other areas, the ministry insisted.

This is just one such occasion among many others, including location of mass graves of raped and murdered by Kiev regime's thugs women in Donbass (in Russian), which are being scored not only to Nazis of Kiev regime, but their curators from D.C. and London. For the US "elite" which has zero experience with Nuremberg Trials and crimes against humanity committed by German Nazism, it seems inconceivable that at some point of time they can get charged as war criminals, which many of them are, and get revenge served to them cold. Some, however, do get it either on intellectual or emotional level, hence absolutely fanatical and desperate attempts in trying to keep Kiev regime afloat by pumping it with weapons and "volunteers" and, surprise-surprise, being, in fact, in direct command and control of VSU or, rather, whatever is left of it. One of the major drivers behind all this irrational and, incompetent, behavior is recognition by some of the immediate future the United States faces economically, which also translates into the further decomposition of America's governmental institutions (I am on record since 2015 that the US is ungovernable) and further military weakening, not that the US can fight a real war in Europe. It cannot. 

This is the environment which is conducive for all kinds of internal and foreign policy turns which will, not may, weaken the United States to such a degree that we are talking about actual "regime change" in D.C. and the chaos which ensues. Many people in D.C. worry. Hence, we see more desperation such as attacks on nuclear power station in Zaporozhie and increased number of atrocities against civilians and the US is FULLY engaged in these decisions. As I stated, Russia has a very good memory and, unlike the US, knows what price must be paid in demolishing the criminal globalist order and bringing people on whose hands is the blood of millions of innocent people around the world to justice. They miscalculated grossly, which is not surprising, once one considers in what economic and military alternative universe they all existed since recently, when cognitive dissonance became too severe. 

To illustrate a complete brainwash of the Western public and people who "govern" them, French decided to ask themselves a question on when those dirty, smelly and poor Russian bastards will crawl back to Europe begging to lift sanctions. As France Info reported:

Près de six mois après le début de la guerre en Ukraine, à plusieurs reprises des sanctions économiques ont été prises contre la Russie. De nombreuses grandes entreprises ont quitté le pays. Mais cela n’a eu aucune conséquence sur Moscou, qui continue de tenir bon.Rentrer dans un supermarché à Moscou (Russie), c’est comme rentrer dans n’importe quel autre supermarché occidental. Les rayons sont bien garnis. Les clients peuvent trouver sans peine des produits français ou des bouteilles de vins venues d’Europe. Les pénuries que certains Russes craignaient il y a quelques mois n’ont pas eu lieu. "Il y a des articles qui ont disparu mais ils ont été remplacés", assure une Russe. "Je ne vais pas vous mentir, il y a de tout", confirme un autre.

Translation: Almost six months after the start of the war in Ukraine, economic sanctions have repeatedly been taken against Russia. Many large companies have left the country. But that had no consequences for Moscow, which continues to hold firm. Walking into a supermarket in Moscow (Russia) is like walking into any other Western supermarket. The shelves are well stocked. Customers can easily find French products or bottles of wine from Europe. The shortages that some Russians feared a few months ago have not happened. "There are items that have disappeared but they have been replaced," says a Russian. "I'm not going to lie to you, there is everything," confirms another.

The French "journo" still ended up "reporting" beaten to death tropes about China's "parts" and cannibalizing commercial aircraft, but what else do you expect from their kind. Hello, Paris? Russia is a global food EXPORTER, and you can go into ANY supermarket in Russia from Moscow, to Krasnoyarsk, to Vladivostok with Khabarovsk and they will look, especially in large chains such as Lenta, Magnit or Auchan (French chain, btw), like the horns of plenty. Here are Russia's favorite Aussies shopping in Novosibirsk's (one of many) toy stores. 

Or here is how Lenta in Krasnodar looks like.
 

You cannot explain to most in the West the real size and complexity of Russian economy and why Russians in their vast majority despise and scorn the West. In fact, for the first time in history, Russians look at the combined West as poor, degenerate and uncultured. And do not try to compare Paris or New York to Moscow or St. Petersburg.