Predictably, the Kremlin is fuming at widespread reports that the Biden administration has made a U-turn on its policy which previously prohibited Ukraine from attack Russian soil with US-supplied weaponry.
Former Russian president and current Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has warned that Russian forces could strike back from any point where attacks are launched, including on “NATO specialists” advising Ukraine forces.
“NATO countries that have approved strikes with their weapons on Russian territory should be aware that their equipment and specialists will be destroyed not only in Ukraine, but also at any point from where Russian territory is attacked,” he said on Telegram, according to TASS, also noting that “the participation of NATO specialists could be seen as a casus belli.”
“All their military equipment and specialists fighting against us will be destroyed both on the territory of former Ukraine and on the territory of other countries, should strikes be carried out from there against Russian territory,” Medvedev added in the warning.
He said that contrary to much of the West’s attempts to obfuscate the reality, Ukraine’s long-rage missile systems are actually “directly operated by servicemen from NATO countries.” He said this is tantamount to these countries’ direct participation in the war.
He explained that this raises the specter of major war and confrontation with the West, as in such a scenario where Russia attacks NATO personnel, the alliance would then have to weigh “possible retaliatory strikes… in the context of articles 4 and 5 of the Washington Treaty.”
Politico reported Thursday afternoon, “The Biden administration has quietly given Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia — solely near the area of Kharkiv — using U.S.-provided weapons, two U.S. officials and two other people familiar with the move said Thursday, a major reversal that will help Ukraine to better defend its second-largest city.”
The same official stipulated that the policy of not allowing long-range strikes inside Russia “has not changed.” However, this is surely going to be a distinction without substance or meaning from Russia’s point of view, as it makes attacking Russia’s sovereign territory with US weaponry ‘allowable’ for the first time. Clearly it’s a highly dangerous slippery slope.
For two years Biden was absolutely adamant that no US weapons could be used to strike Russia. Now he reverses the policy — aka, he lied. So where's the pushback? Congress, media? What could be of greater consequence than lying the country into war with a nuclear superpower?
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) May 31, 2024
Other NATO countries have been openly advocating for hitting Russia with long-range missiles, and have even approved for Kiev to start doing so in a huge escalation. Denmark has even said it’s fine with Ukraine attacking Russia with Western-supplied F-16 jets.
Ukraine has been complaining that all restrictions need to be taken off if it is to defend against Russia’s recent major offensive in Kharkiv, which was launched from across the border. For example, Russian artillery is able to fire from rear positions within the Belgorod region near the border. It meanwhile remains part of Moscow’s stated aim to push the border deeper into Ukraine to create a ‘buffer zone’ – making it harder for pro-Kiev forces to shell Russian towns and villages.
