US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken wants to give Ukraine permission to use American weapons on Russian soil, says a US newspaper The New York Times (NOW) citing administration sources.
For now, the president Joe Biden has not given Ukraine permission to strike Russian soil with American weapons.
Researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Charly Salonius-Pasternak considers the leakage of the administration to NYT to be significant.
– These leaks are never accidental. In the United States, politics is done with leaks in a completely different way than in Finland, the researcher says.
According to him, the fact that the leak is linked to such a high authority as the foreign minister shows that the discussions have already progressed very far.
– This is to make it visible that the discussion is serious, but at the same time the White House still has the opportunity to back down, Salonius-Pasternak explains.
In his opinion, Ukraine should be allowed to use American weapons in Russia.
– Now the Ukrainians see Russian assault artillery and troops preparing on the other side of the border, but they are not allowed to shoot. It is absurd, says Salonius-Pasternak.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi has constantly demanded permission to use western weapons on military targets on Russian soil.
Especially in the Kharkiv area, the situation is difficult.
Russia has bombed Ukraine’s second largest city just tens of kilometers across the border, but Ukraine has not been able to return fire with its best weapons. Military experts have estimated that Russia’s goal may be to make the city uninhabitable.
The map below shows from which direction Russia is attacking Kharkiv:
There are no actual miracle weapons that change the course of the war, Salonius-Pasternak emphasizes. In his opinion, permission to strike on Russian soil would be a more significant change for Ukraine than any single new weapon system.
– If Russia can no longer rely on the fact that it is possible to strike inside their borders only with relatively simple drones manufactured by Ukraine itself, it would force Russia to either act less efficiently in different ways or take significantly greater losses.
Breaking the red line is still scary
Then why hasn’t permission been given yet?
The reason is the fear of nuclear war and world war.
Especially the president Joe Biden has tried to be careful not to cross Russia’s so-called red line. This means an action that could cause Russia to use a nuclear weapon or start a direct war against NATO.
The same discussion has already taken place several times, for example in the case of new weapon systems granted to Ukraine, such as tanks.
Russia has every time warned Western countries not to help Ukraine any more, but its countermeasures have remained minimal, Salonius-Pasternak times.
According to NYT, Biden still believes that Russia has a red line that cannot be crossed. The only problem is that it is not known where the border is.
Salonius-Pasternak does not believe that the red line would be crossed by the permission to fire on Russian soil.
– Surely even now Russia would say that this is the biggest escalation in the world. But they kind of have to say it now.
For example, Britain has already said that Ukraine can attack Russia with the weapons it has provided.
According to the researcher, the actual policy change would only be if NATO forces used military force directly against Russia.
– Would that also start the third world war? I doubt not, he says.
We want the best possible negotiating position for Ukraine
According to NYT’s information, Blinken started promising to attack Russia after he visited Kiev a few weeks ago.
According to Salonius-Pasternak, the timing is also affected by concern about the continuation of US support.
The US arms aid package approved by Congress in April now brings more resources to Ukraine, but similar aid packages may not come next year, the researcher estimates.
– If Ukraine wants to get the best possible negotiating position, time may be running out. And if no more money can be obtained, then at least the existing time, resources and weapon systems can be used as efficiently as possible, so that Ukraine has the best possible situation on the battlefield with a view to negotiations.
Ukraine has received long-range ATACMS missiles from the United States. Watch the video below to see how deep into Russia Ukraine could strike, if only it were allowed to do so: