Use of Western weapons to attack Russia could escalate war in Ukraine

Ukraine’s president is pressing the US and its allies to lift a ban on attacks inside Russia with Western-supplied long-range weapons, blaming his reluctance on battlefield setbacks. The United States and its European allies have so far resisted for fear of regionalizing the war, drawing European countries into the conflict. But as the war drags on and the Ukrainians, even with American help, fail to make significant advances, the temptation to allow the use of these weapons to attack military, industrial installations and infrastructure within Russian territory increases.

After the press reported that North Korea was sending military personnel to support the Russians, the Biden government stated that if this were confirmed it would allow the weapons it supplied to be used to attack targets inside Russia. “Ukraine will not have any new restrictions on the use of United States weapons in its conflict against Russia if North Korean troops actually join the Russian military,” the Pentagon said.

According to the Wall Street Journal (10/27/2024), “North Korea has sent hundreds of special forces to eastern Russia for training in recent weeks, according to South Korea’s main intelligence agency, as Moscow depends on Pyongyang and other partners , including Iran, to support its war effort in Ukraine. Russian Navy ships have transported about 1,500 North Korean special forces troops to Russia this month, and Pyongyang has plans to send up to 12,000 troops to help Russia, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service. and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies warned that sending North Korean troops to Ukraine’s front lines would be a major escalation in the conflict between Moscow and the Washington-led West.”

According to the Russian website RT News“President Vladimir Putin expressed hope that NATO has “heard” his warning about the consequences of allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied long-range missiles to strike deep into Russia. Putin said Moscow would treat such strikes as a direct attack by the countries that supplied the weapons. Amid growing Western involvement in the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian president also proposed updating the national nuclear doctrine. When asked whether Kiev’s supporters heard his warning, Putin told Rossiya-1 correspondent Pavel Zarubin: “They didn’t tell me anything about this, but I hope they listened.”

Putin emphasized that the Ukrainian military cannot use high-precision weapons independently. “Only experts from NATO states can do this, because this requires space intelligence, which Ukraine naturally does not have,” he explained. Putin says he is tired of Western hypocrisy. According to Putin, “what is happening now is being done at the hands of NATO officials.” “How to respond, when and where specifically – it’s too early to talk about that now. But obviously our military department is thinking about this and will offer several options,” Putin concluded.