2024-09-18 01:48:35
Military expert Nico Lange also points to the launch pads for ballistic missiles in Russia. It makes sense “to fight the launch pads for ballistic missiles and not to imagine that you can set up air defenses in such a way that you can intercept every missile that is fired from these launch pads,” Lange told ZDF. That would not only make sense militarily, but also economically, as Western supporters would not have to keep supplying anti-aircraft missiles worth millions.
The Ukrainian analyst group “Frontelligence”, on the other hand, estimates that the impact of allowing more extensive attacks in Russia on the war will be relatively small. This is because Russia has probably already moved some of its high-value targets out of the range of the weapons systems. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made similar comments at a meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group in Ramstein in early September.
The permission for long-range strikes is only one factor in a series of measures that must be taken: “The key to victory” lies rather in the “qualitative improvement, the gradual building of the Ukrainian army and its economic adaptation in connection with the supply of long-range systems,” writes the “Frontelligence” founder under the pseudonym Tatarigami on X.
In fact, the US government is said to be close to deciding to supply Ukraine with more cruise missiles. These could be part of an aid package that is expected to be announced this fall before the US presidential election.
These are said to be US-made JASSM missiles. The cruise missile was produced in four versions. The newest is said to have a range of over 1,800 kilometers, the oldest can fly around 350 kilometers. It is not known which of the models could be delivered. It is considered unlikely that Ukraine will receive the most modern version. You can read more about the cruise missile here.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Western approval of Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons against targets in Russia would mean that NATO was “at war” with Russia. “This would significantly change the nature of the conflict. It would mean that NATO countries are at war with Russia,” Putin told a state television reporter on Thursday. If this decision were made, “it would be nothing less than a direct involvement of NATO countries in the war in Ukraine.”