Ukraine may soon be cleared to use Western weapons to strike deep into Russia. It’s what the beleaguered nation needs to turn the tide of the invasion, but it has, thus far, been strictly forbidden. Why? Not since September 11, 2001, has the US government seen the results of an enemy determined to bring America to its knees. Only then did the US military go after the terrorist group responsible with a vengeance. But time passes, and memories fade.
Though Gaining Ground, Ukraine Needs the Tools to Win
Ukraine has shown a determination in the ground war to eject the invading enemy – but Russia has devastated the length and breadth of Ukraine with its fighter-bomber, ballistic missile, drone, and cruise missile attacks. The issue is Ukraine’s ability to use the long-range missiles the West has provided to strike deep into Russia to destroy the Kremlin’s ammunition depots, and training and staging areas, which have consistently resupplied the Russian invasion. “Ukrainian officials have repeatedly called on allies to greenlight the use of Western-provided long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. So far, the US has allowed Kyiv to use American-provided weapons only in a limited area inside Russia’s border with Ukraine,” the Associated Press explained.
In recent months, the intensity of Moscow’s air and ground assaults on Ukraine’s ground forces has increased, jeopardizing any momentum Kyiv’s army can muster. Concern is building that a sustained Russian battering of Ukraine’s civilians and soldiers will wear down the Ukrainians. The increased intensity by the Russians has magnified the urgency for the US and the West to rethink the prohibition on Ukraine from using long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia. As The New York Times reported, “A deadly uptick of Russian guided glide bombs slamming into Ukrainian cities — as many as 800 in a single week this summer — has injected new urgency into a long-running debate over whether Ukraine should be allowed to launch missiles supplied by the West at military targets deep in Russian territory.”
The reluctance of the US, the UK, and France to allow Ukraine to prosecute the war with Russia the way it should be fought is perplexing. Russian President Vladimir Putin has persistently threatened to escalate hostility to encompass NATO countries, but those threats have been hollow. Nonetheless, the West and predominantly the US have, from the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, been fearful of the conflict escalating. In a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, trepidation regarding any widening of the Ukraine-Russia conflict took an odd turn. As the WSJ explained:
“Officials are concerned in particular that Russian President Vladimir Putin could retaliate by arming the Yemen-based Houthi rebels, who are engaged in a long-running campaign to attack ships in the Red Sea. Putin has warned the US and its allies that permitting Ukraine to use Western-made long-range missiles against Russia would mean the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s countries were ‘at war’ with Russia.”
The Iran-backed Houthi terrorists are already being supplied with drones and a variety of ballistic and cruise missiles by Iran. It’s a little incredible to believe the Russians would send munitions to the Houthis when, in desperation, Moscow is receiving short-range missiles and drones from Iran to fight in Ukraine. But the tide may be turning on the US naysayers.
Decision on Using Long-Range Missile May Be Changing
In a recent interview on Fox News, retired four-star US Army general Jack Keane revealed a brightening picture for Ukraine. “The good news here is, the Brits have already made a decision. They haven’t publicly announced it that they are going to remove the restrictions on Ukraine using their Storm Shadow Cruise Missiles, and it looks like the United States is moving in the same direction, to remove the restrictions imposed on ATACMS,” Keane said. Liberty Nation News reported that “The ATACMS or Army Tactical Missile System, with a range of 186 miles, can hit deeper into Russia and Russian-held areas of Ukraine.”
Keane’s optimism is encouraging. Still, Major General Patrick Ryder, the DOD press secretary, said during a press briefing that “there has been no change to our policy” when asked by a reporter if the US would be loosening restrictions. Reports from the five-sided building say that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III is one of the officials who does not favor Ukraine using ATACMS or Storm Shadow Cruise Missiles.
Curiously, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in his remarks to the press following meetings in Ukraine, seemed more open to permitting the use of longer-range munitions to strike deeper into Russia. “[W]e have adjusted and adapted as needs have changed, as the battlefield has changed, and I have no doubt that we’ll continue to do that as this evolves,” Blinken offered on the long-range strike issue. If the US is going to permit Ukraine to use more effective strikes deeper into Russia, waiting to make the decision will not improve Kyiv’s combat capability. Ukrainian progress in beating back its enemy has been hurt by being unable to reach into Russia and destroy warfighting capability before it arrives in Ukraine. A long-range strike capability would help immensely.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.
