Canberra: US President Joe Biden has given Ukraine the green light to use US-made long-range missiles. After this, Ukraine launched a missile at Russia. It is believed that Ukraine did this because it could help it repel Russian forces trying to retake Russian territory. Ukraine may also look strong here before Donald Trump takes over the US presidency in the White House. However, it is difficult to say what direction the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine will take in the future.
Ukraine could attack deep into Russia
The missiles that the Joe Biden administration has allowed Ukraine to use have a range of about 300 kilometers. Previously, the US had told Ukraine to use it only against Russian forces on Ukrainian soil. This is a source of great frustration for Ukraine, especially since it cannot use it against targets inside Russia from where there have been repeated missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities. Now Ukraine is capable of attacking Russia’s interior areas in a war.
Volodymyr Zelensky in the war zone
Is North Korea the reason?
Specific details of the change in US policy have not been disclosed. The New York Times reported that the permission to attack Russian territory would initially apply only to attacks on Russian forces in the Kursk region. Russia wants to get back more than 500 square kilometers of territory occupied by Ukraine. Western agencies believe several thousand North Koreans are among the 50,000 troops on the Russian side. North Korea’s involvement may be the main reason behind lifting the cap on ATACMS.
President Putin has made his position clear
It is also worth noting that the presence of North Korean troops on Russia’s side could vindicate the US decision and allay concerns that Russia would consider this a step to escalate tensions. It is also being said that the possibility of a direct conflict between Russia and NATO has so far been averted due to America’s vigilance. Russian President Vladimir Putin has already said that allowing Western weapons to attack Russia amounts to NATO’s ‘direct participation’ in war. The Kremlin reacted predictably to the US announcement this week, saying it would “add fuel to the fire” of war.
Vladimir Putin
Weapons will also be available from here
US restrictions on the use of ATACMS led Britain and France to impose similar restrictions on the use of Ukraine’s Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles, which have a strike range of 250 kilometers. It seems likely that the US move will lead Britain and France to take similar steps to relax those restrictions. Weapons could also come to Ukraine’s arsenal from Germany, where the Greens, Social Democrats and opposition Christian Democrats support greenlighting the supply of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, which have a range of 500 kilometers. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has put it on hold until now.
Understand this too
Washington officials have recently claimed that ATACMS will be of limited use now that Russia has moved most of its major weapons, particularly jet fighters, out of their range. However, some military analysts believe there are still many military targets within range, possibly in the hundreds. These include command and communication posts, logistics centers, weapons depots, missile units and helicopter detachments. (conversation)
Also read:
First Missiles, Now Anti-Personnel Land Mines, Will America Play a Bigger Role in the Russia-Ukraine War?
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