WorthyNews: Russia Warns US Over Long-Range Missiles For Ukraine (Worthy News In-Depth)

[WorthyNewsBot]

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

MOSCOW/KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – A former adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin says the militaries of the United States and Britain have become “legitimate” targets as the U.S. is directly involved in the war “by allowing” Ukraine to fire its long-range missiles at Russia.

Sergey Markov, who remains influential, said late Monday, “Joe Biden wants to block attempts of Donald Trump when he will be inaugurated as president to make a peace deal.”

He added that the “United States and Great Britain are now directly taking part in a war against Russia. It means that all militaries of the US and Great Britain become legitimate goals for the Russian military.” Intelligence aviation jets and satellites could be attacked,” he explained.

He spoke moments after the Biden administration accused Russia of escalating the conflict in Ukraine by deploying some 11,000 North Korean troops to help it battle against Ukraine.

However, the Kremlin warned Washington that its involvement in the war by allowing Kyiv’s forces to strike far into Russia with U.S.-made weapons would escalate the nearly three-year war.

The war of words around the 1000th day of the armed conflict following Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, came as several officials said Biden permitted Ukraine to use U.S. weapons to strike deeper into Russia.

The White House has publicly not confirmed that Ukrainians can use long-range missiles, known as the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS.

NORTH KOREA

However, several officials with knowledge about the situation said on condition of anonymity that the move was in response to Russia’s decision to bring North Korean troops into the fight.

Allowing the Ukrainians to use the long-range missiles, known as the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, came in response to Russia’s surprise decision to bring North Korean troops into the fight, officials said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine did not confirm the permission to strike but suggested on Sunday that more important than lifting the restrictions would be the number of missiles used to strike Russians.

“Today, many in the media are talking about the fact that we have received permission to take appropriate actions,” Mr. Zelensky said in his nightly address. “But blows are not inflicted with words. Such things are not announced. The rockets will speak for themselves.”

Biden began to ease restrictions on the use of U.S.-supplied weapons on Russian soil after Russia launched a cross-border assault in May in the direction of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.

To help Ukraine’s military defend the critical city of Kharkiv, Biden allowed Kyiv to use the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, which has a range of about 80 kilometers (50 miles) against Russian forces directly across the border.

However, Biden did not allow the Ukrainians to use the longer-range ATACMS, which have a range of about 190 miles (305 kilometers), to defend Kharkiv.

MORE STRENGTH

While experts said that wasn’t enough to hit Russia’s main cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, they agreed it could give Kyiv the strength to target numerous other towns, potentially impacting millions of people.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Washington’s move was significant in terms of military support for Ukraine but stressed it did not signal a shift in strategy by the West.

“The decision from the American side, and I would like to emphasize that this is not a rethink but an intensification of what has already been delivered by other partners, is so important at this moment,” Baerbock said in Brussels ahead of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers.

Germany’s top diplomat also issued a warning to supporters of Russian President Putin and said the EU was preparing new sanctions against Iran as well as looking at the issue of Chinese drone support.

Also speaking in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed hope that the bloc’s members would follow Washington’s lead.

“I’ve been saying once and again that Ukraine should be able to use the arms we provided to them in order to not only stop the arrows but also to be able to hit the archers,” Borrell said.

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp agreed, saying he thought Biden’s decision was an “adequate response” to Russia deploying North Korean troops.

SLOVAKIA SKEPTICAL

However, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico—who, like neighboring Hungary, has criticized Western policies on Ukraine and opposed EU sanctions on Russia—denounced the reported U.S. decision, warning it would endanger any potential peace talks.

“This is an unprecedented escalation of tensions, a decision that thwarts hopes for the start of any peace talks and an end to the mutual killing of Slavs in Ukraine,” Fico said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenisky did not confirm the permission to strike deep inside Russia but acknowledged that “many in the media are talking about the fact that we have received permission to take appropriate actions.”

However, “blows are not inflicted with words. Such things are not announced. The rockets will speak for themselves,” he added in televised remarks.

On Monday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller declined to confirm that President Biden’s outgoing administration decided to allow the strikes.

However, he stressed in carefully diplomatic language opening the door to such a scenario that the U.S. “will always adapt and adjust the capabilities we provide to Ukraine when it’s appropriate to do so.”

While not mentioning the reported missile agreement, Biden urged leaders at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Rio de Janeiro—which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is attending —to support Kyiv.

TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY

“The United States strongly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Everyone around this table, in my view, should as well,” Biden said.

The developments come after months of lobbying by Ukrainian officials, including President Zelenskyy, for Western states to give Kyiv the green light to use donated weapons to their full potential to hit targets currently out of range.

Russia’s largest attack on Kyiv and other cities on Sunday involving more than 200 missiles and drones, its largest in months, further boosted that argument.

With Trump’s re-entry into the White House approaching, Russia and Ukraine seem eager to change the realities on the ground ahead of a possible peace deal.

Trump has said he could end the war within 24 hours. It is widely believed that a final settlement would include Ukraine giving up territories in the east where many ethnic Russians live, as well as Russian-occupied Crimea.

Russia controls Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and areas of southern and eastern Ukraine. As of 2024, Russia occupies almost 20 percent of Ukraine, and about 3 to 3.5 million Ukrainians are estimated to be living under occupation.

Observers say about 80 percent of the Donbas – a coal-and-steel zone comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk regions – and more than 70 percent of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions are under Russian control.

FAST MOVING

According to several assessments, Russia would have to take an additional 10,000 square km (3,860 square miles) of territory to control all of Donbas, but its army has made gains in recent days.

In an attempt to halt Russia’s offensive, Ukraine overtook a large area in Russia’s Kursk region during a surprise incursion in early August.

However, Zelenskyy has acknowledged that Russia has deployed 50,000 troops, including many North Koreans, to Kursk in another sign that the war is entering a critical stage.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and injured in Europe’s bloodiest conflict since the Second World War, prompting calls for peace.

The post Russia Warns US Over Long-Range Missiles For Ukraine (Worthy News In-Depth) appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

View the full article