2024-04-12 05:57:14
According to The Telegraph, the US will not allow this, fearing that American weapons hitting targets in Russia could provoke an escalation of the conflict. And due to Kiev’s restrictions on the use of Western weapons, Ukraine found itself in a difficult position.
“From American bombs to British and French cruise missiles, Kiev’s Western partners are providing their most powerful weapons on the condition that Ukraine uses them only on its territory (including Crimea). This restriction is a mistake that can be easily corrected by simply notifying Ukraine that it has been lifted. “Despite the deadlock in Congress and the delay in European ammunition production, Kiev’s Western allies can help Ukraine in an instant – simply by changing this policy,” the article states.
The current restrictions put Ukraine in a difficult position, as missiles that hit peaceful Ukrainian cities are often launched over Russian territory from planes taking off from airfields on Russian territory. The same goes for Russian attack drones. They leave bases in Russia only to attack residential buildings in Ukraine.
“Restricting Ukraine’s use of Western ammunition does not completely prevent strikes inside Russia, but encourages Kiev to use more unconventional means – drones, aerial bombs and sabotage. Ukraine also uses a limited stockpile of older and less accurate Soviet missiles. But Kiev’s attack drones move more slowly than Western missiles and bombs, making them more vulnerable to Russian anti-aircraft defenses. And when debris from hijacked drones falls on Russian cities, it fuels Putin’s propaganda machine. It is clear that more accurate Western weapons will reduce collateral damage in Russia and the number of civilian casualties,” the publication notes.
It is noted that Ukraine is intensively working on the development of its long-range missiles. But it takes time to get them ready for widespread use on the battlefield. At the same time, Western weaponry has proven its effectiveness during attacks on Russian military bases in the occupied territory of Ukraine, where it is allowed to use both US-supplied ATACMS and French and United Kingdom cruise missiles.
Strikes from these weapons destroyed the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, hit a Russian submarine, and destroyed dozens of Russian helicopters. As a result, the Kremlin withdrew several of its valuable warships and aircraft from the occupied part of Ukraine to bases and ports in Russia.
“Restricting Kiev’s use of Western weapons is an especially valuable gift to Moscow, because Russia has far more planes than hangars to store them. As a result, valuable military aircraft and helicopters remain unprotected. The Kremlin knows that many of its aircraft are vulnerable to Ukrainian strikes, which is why Russia has begun cloaking aircraft at its air bases. These decoys don’t look very convincing in high-resolution satellite images, but they can fool Ukraine’s strike drones, which rely on simple cameras. Advanced Western weapons face this problem less often,” writes the author of the material.
Meanwhile, Western officials worry that the possible use of their weapons on Russian soil would lead to escalation — even “Armageddon” — or feed Putin’s propaganda machine, which portrays the invasion of Ukraine as a war against the West. However, these fears are unfounded, because even without evidence, Russia already claims that Western ammunition was used in an attack on Russian territory.
For example, when explosions rocked the Russian city of Belgorod late last year, the Kremlin accused Ukraine of using Czech weapons in the attack. When a transport plane was shot down over Russian airspace, the Kremlin claimed that a US-supplied anti-aircraft defense system had been used.
It should be noted that Russia, in turn, did not hesitate to direct North Korean missiles and Iranian drones to Ukraine. Russian missiles also violated the airspace of Poland, a NATO member.
“Ukraine is fighting an existential war, and Kiev’s victory over the increasingly dangerous V. Putin is very important for the security of Europe, NATO and the United States.” But aid to support this victory is consistently late. Ukraine has a difficult year ahead of it, when it will have to repel Russian attacks and strengthen its ability to recover the occupied territories. V. Putin has clearly shown that he is not interested in negotiations,” the publication summarizes.
2024-04-12 05:57:14