US on the brink of allowing Ukraine to 'play big' in Russia

Yesterday (September 14), The New York Times reported that US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed allowing Ukraine to use long-range attack weapons provided by the West to "penetrate" deep into Russian territory.

Red line

While London has expressed its desire to promote the enhancement of this capacity for Kyiv, Washington has hesitated. In recent times, Ukraine has repeatedly expressed its desire to use Storm Shadow missiles (produced by a joint British-French partnership) and ATACMS missiles provided by the US to attack Russian territory.

ATACMS is launched during a US-South Korean military exercise.

The US had already supplied Ukraine with M270 multiple rocket launchers and M142 mobile infantry rocket systems (HIMARS). But initially, the US only provided limited rockets and missiles with a range of less than 150 km that Ukraine could launch with the M270 and HIMARS. Later, Washington supplied the ATACMS, which can also be launched with the M270 or HIMARS, to Kyiv, but limited it to not allowing it to attack Russian territory.

With a range of more than 500 km of Storm Shadow and a range of about 300 km, if using these weapons, Kyiv could cause heavy damage to Moscow. Because currently, Ukrainian forces have responded deeply, controlling some areas in Russian territory.

The New York Times quoted several European officials as saying that President Biden may soon agree to the above issue. Responding to the above information, CNN quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking to the press, affirming that if NATO lifted restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range Western missiles to attack deep inside Russia, Moscow would consider it an act of war.

Biden says he is not afraid of Putin but has not allowed Ukraine to fire long-range missiles at Russia

President Biden's Choice

Analyzing when answering Thanh Nien on September 14, US defense intelligence expert Carl O. Schuster said: "If Ukraine is allowed to use long-range weapons provided by the West to attack Russian territory, Moscow will pay a high price due to the conflict in Ukraine. Currently, Moscow is having to deal with Ukraine's "backward thrust" into Russian territory, making the Russian people afraid."

Therefore, if Ukraine has the ability to strike deep into Russian territory, it will become a big challenge for the Kremlin. However, this could also make the conflict in Ukraine more tense, even spreading out of control for the US. Therefore, if Kyiv is allowed to use long-range weapons provided by the US and its allies to strike deep into Russian territory, it means that President Biden has made a major change in policy towards the conflict in Ukraine.

Explaining this change by Mr. Biden, expert Schuster assessed that Mr. Biden wanted US Vice President Kamala Harris to win the upcoming White House race, so he needed to erase criticism about not providing full support to Ukraine in order to gain the upper hand.

"Now Mr. Biden can claim that he has removed restrictions on the use of weapons that are believed to have put Ukraine at a disadvantage in the war," the expert commented.

Secretary of the Russian Security Council meets with North Korean leader

Reuters reported yesterday (September 14) that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with the Secretary of the Russian Security Council to discuss strengthening strategic dialogue between the two countries.

The two sides were said to have "exchanged views broadly on the regional and international situation" and reached satisfactory consensus on issues including "more cooperation to safeguard common security interests".

The US and Ukraine, as well as independent analysts, say Mr Kim has supplied weapons to Russia for use in the Ukraine conflict. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the allegations, although the two sides pledged to strengthen military cooperation and signed a comprehensive strategic partnership at a summit in June.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/my-truoc-lan-ranh-cho-phep-ukraine-choi-lon-o-nga-185240914232018643.htm