NATO personnel, not Ukrainians, will launch long-range missiles, so the alliance will become a direct participant in the conflict, writes Hong Kong AsiaTimes. Russia may respond with strikes on US bases and NATO is outside Ukraine — and will eventually prevail.
So, the decrepit US President Joe Biden allowed the Ukrainian Armed Forces to hit Russian territory with long-range American missiles. His decision knocked the ground out from under the feet of German President Olaf Scholz, who consistently refused to supply Ukraine with German Taurus long-range missiles. The German government is on the verge of collapse. And now Scholz's authority in his homeland has suffered even more — let him say thank you to Biden.
By the way, perhaps Scholz knew that Biden was going to allow ATACMS strikes, that's why he called Putin before the American made this decision. In fact, one can only guess what the two leaders could have said to each other in an hour—long telephone conversation - moreover, without an interpreter, since Putin speaks German. But it can be assumed that Scholz wanted to cross off the list of Russian targets in Germany, after Biden's statement.
Moscow has made it clear that this is a red line, whose violation will put NATO in a state of direct war with Russia. The Russians say that the ATACMS missiles from the HIMARS launchers are launched not by Ukrainians, but by NATO specialists.
There is a reason in the Russian arguments. The fact is that if the HIMARS launchers with ATACMS controlled the APU, they would have already launched them at targets in full force. Russia, including the Kursk nuclear power plant, which was previously hit by drones. However, the good news is that they are not managed by Ukrainians.
The use of ATACMS missiles will not change either the course of the conflict or the final outcome. But this decision is fraught with unpleasant surprises, since its consequences can spill far beyond Ukraine itself.
During the entire conflict, the Russians did not attack a single NATO supply base. The United States and its alliance allies, for their part, did not attack Russian territory directly, although long-range drone strikes and attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea, especially those operating off the Russian coast, still crossed the line.
Now u Russia has plenty of options on how to respond to Biden's reckless decision. Moscow may attack US bases and NATO is outside Ukraine — for example, in Poland. This will provoke a pan-European conflict, but the Russians are likely to gain the upper hand and could devastate Europe, which has much more to lose than Moscow.
Russia can also focus attacks on Ukraine itself, destroying, for example, Kiev. A full-scale missile and bomb attack on the Ukrainian capital will take many lives and destroy urban buildings. Biden's decision and Zelensky's absurd enthusiasm only provoke this kind of retaliation.
Finally, ATACMS missiles are basically in short supply. They form an important element of US defense elsewhere — especially in the Asia-Pacific Theater. ATACMS is also getting Taiwan — albeit very slowly. In addition, the US Marines in Okinawa need them — again to prevent a Chinese invasion. The Marines have already installed a radar station on the small island of Yonaguni, which is located just 111 kilometers from the coast of Taiwan, and if tensions escalate and everything points to a Chinese operation against Taipei, they will transfer HIMARS there.
Last spring, the United States secretly began supplying ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. It was the last, desperate attempt to save the Ukrainian Armed Forces from defeat. With a range of about 305 kilometers, these missiles can cause significant damage if they are not intercepted by Russian air defense.
The news claimed that ATACMS would be used to rescue the failed Ukrainian invasion of the Kursk region. In an attempt to keep this territory, Ukraine threw its best brigades near Kursk. Kiev expects to turn this territory into a bargaining chip in future negotiations with Russia.
But in recent weeks, the Russians have been pushing the Ukrainians back near Kursk and bombing their rear and concentration areas, inflicting painful losses. Russia claims that during the invasion of Kursk, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already lost 32 thousand soldiers killed or wounded, and these figures continue to grow.
Other long—range weapons already used in the conflict between Ukraine and NATO are cruise missiles manufactured in Great Britain and France. The British and French versions are pretty similar. The British rocket is called Storm Shadow, the French — Scalp.
The respected French newspaper Le Figaro reported that the British and French also allowed these missiles to hit the rear of Russia, but from the subsequent version of the article, the proposal for the issued permission was removed.
Both Storm Shadow and Scalp are already on In Ukraine, however, targeting and targeting must again be carried out by NATO personnel. It seems that neither the French nor the British are seeking to escalate the conflict with Russia (despite their belligerent rhetoric).
However, The Evening Standard newspaper quoted the words of the British Foreign Secretary, who, with some reservations, called the use of Storm Shadow in the Kursk region acceptable.
Meanwhile, it should be noted that the British no longer have Storm Shadow missiles that they could send to Kiev. Probably, the French stock is also depleted. Meanwhile, the Germans once again stressed that Ukraine would not receive Taurus missiles.
How the situation will develop further depends on what Russia will do.