Brian A. Nichols, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, has officially confirmed that the White House has authorized Ukraine to use long-range weapons to strike at Russian territory. This was reported by Globo.
“The war could end now if Russia withdraws its troops from Ukraine”
He emphasized that the war began with Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. According to him, it is Russia who controls how long this war will last, and the decision to end the conflict depends entirely on its actions.
“The war could end right now if Russia withdraws its troops from Ukraine and starts respecting its borders,” Nichols said.
In his opinion, providing Ukraine with additional defense capabilities using long-range weapons, as approved by US President Joe Biden, could strengthen its ability to defend its territories. In addition, it could serve as a signal to Russia that the use of force to seize Ukrainian land is futile.
“With any luck, this move will make the Russian Federation realize that its actions will not succeed and will encourage it to either begin peace talks or simply withdraw from Ukraine,” Nichols added.
Macron praised US decision to allow Ukraine using long-range missiles to strike Russia
French President Emmanuel Macron believes that the US decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles deep in Russian territory is correct. He said this on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Le Monde reported.
“I understand that [the decision] was also triggered by a profound change in this conflict that should not be underestimated, which is the engagement of North Korean troops alongside Russia on what is European soil”, he told reporters.
“The only power escalating this conflict today is Russia, by engaging North Korea, which is, as we know, a very aggressive power committed to a nuclear program with very long-range missiles. So it’s really a turning point in this war that has led to this choice by the Americans”, the French President stated.
Emmanuel Macron assured that France’s support for Ukraine “will not waver” in the face of Russia’s “imperialist and brutal aim”.
France’s support for Ukraine “will not waver”, assured Emmanuel Macron on X, hailing “courageous resistance to an illegal and unjustifiable war of aggression” on the thousandth day of the Russian invasion.
“A thousand days that Russia has been pursuing its imperialist and brutal design, targeting civilian populations and violating the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter. A thousand days that we stand resolutely at the side of Ukraine and its people to ensure the triumph of freedom, peace and justice”, writes the French President. “Our support will not waver”, he assures.
The French president also thinks the G20 summit final declaration should have been clearer on the Ukraine war and “does not fit the formulas that we have already been able to get.” In the declaration, the members of the group, which includes Russia, said they support “any constructive initiative” aimed at achieving a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine without condemning Russia’s invasion.
Borrell hopes EU states will also allow Ukraine using missiles to strike Russian territory
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed hopes that European states will follow Washington in using missiles to strike military targets on Russian soil.
“I hope that all [EU] member states will follow the American decision to authorize strikes on Russian soil by the long-range missiles they supply to Ukrainian forces,” said the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, in Brussels.
Despite emphasizing that the decision belongs to the member states, not the EU, Mr. Borell expressed his conviction ahead of the EU-27 defense ministers’ meeting that the Europeans will permit the Ukrainians to utilize these weapons to combat the Russians within Russian territory.
France has delivered Scalp medium-range surface-to-air missiles to the Ukrainians without ruling out the possibility of their use on Russian soil. However, it has never confirmed whether such strikes have already taken place or the number of missiles delivered to Kyiv.
Germany, on the other hand, has so far refused to supply Ukraine with German-made Taurus missiles with a range of 500 km for fear of escalating the conflict between Russia and the West. “Nothing has changed” in Germany’s position, said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius upon his arrival in Brussels.
Josep Borrell also called on Europeans to continue their military support for Ukraine without waiting for possible decisions on the subject from President-elect Donald Trump. “Europeans cannot remain in reactive mode. They can’t sit back and wait to see what the Americans are going to do and then react,” he said. Europeans fear that the new American administration will suspend US military aid to Ukraine in 2025.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski also praised US President Joe Biden’s decision. This is “a language that Putin understands,” he wrote on the X network.
Russia’s threats
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, stated on November 18 that allowing the US to authorize Ukrainian ATACMS strikes against Russian military targets would result in a “qualitatively new round of tension” and a “qualitative” change in US involvement in the war.
Peskov reiterated Russian ruler Putin’s statements of September 12 that Ukrainian strikes on Russia using Western-supplied weapons would mean an escalation and direct involvement of Western countries in the war.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also reiterated Putin’s September statements and noted that Ukraine’s long-range missile strikes on Russia would be a “radical change in the essence and nature” of the war and that Russia’s response would be “adequate and tangible.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry declared that the US would view Ukraine’s long-range ATACMS missile strikes on Russian territory as direct US involvement in the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Zakharova said that Kyiv’s use of long-range missiles to attack Russian territory would mean “direct participation of the United States and its satellites in hostilities against Russia, as well as a radical change in the essence and nature of the conflict.”
“In this case, Russia’s response will be adequate and tangible,” Maria Zakharova said.
Ukrainian troops have previously used ATACMS missiles to strike Russian military targets on the Ukrainian territories captured and occupied by Russia.
At the same time, Zakharova emphasized that it is not yet known whether the information about Joe Biden’s alleged permission to Kyiv to launch ATACMS missiles deep into Russian territory is based on official sources.
“Russian officials are using threatening rhetoric to deter the US’ decision” – ISW
The US-based Institute for the Study of War concluded in its report that Russian officials are using threatening rhetoric to deter the United States from authorizing Ukraine to use its ATACMS missiles for limited strikes against Russian and North Korean military targets in the Kursk region of Russia.
Analysts note that such a US authorization, if officially confirmed, would be a mild response to Russia’s escalating actions, which involved North Korean troops in combat.
“Putin’s presentation of North Korea as a new belligerent in his invasion of Ukraine was a major escalation. Allowing Ukraine to use U.S. missiles against legitimate military targets on Russian territory, in accordance with all international laws and the laws of armed conflict, is a very limited response and cannot be characterized as an escalation,” ISW emphasized.
The ISW noted that Russia has not previously escalated its military response to any alleged Western violations of Russia’s “red lines.”
“Russia has not previously escalated military escalation against any alleged Western violations of Russia’s ‘red lines’, as ISW has repeatedly noted,” the analysts emphasized.
Some Russian officials and propagandists have reportedly asserted that U.S. officials have not yet officially confirmed the authorization for ATACMS strikes, likely in an effort to persuade Washington to overturn this decision and deny media reports of the relevant authorization.
Long-range strikes against Russia vs peace plan and freezing the war
On Sunday, the administration of US President Joe Biden approved the use of US weapons by Ukrainian troops to strike at Russian territory.
According to Axios, the use of long-range weapons is still limited to the Kursk region. However, The Wall Street Journal’s sources indicate that Washington may expand the area of missile use for Ukraine, which would open up new opportunities for Ukraine to counter Russian aggression.
NYT interlocutors predict that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will first use these weapons against Russian and North Korean troops to defend their positions in the Kursk region. Later, other Western media outlets reported that the United States had set restrictions for Ukraine, limiting the scope of strikes to the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.
On November 18, Bloomberg reported that the Turkish leader Recep Erdogan intends to announce his plan to freeze the Russian-Ukrainian war at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Turkish president’s proposal calls for the creation of a demilitarized zone in Donbas and the deployment of international troops there. According to Erdogan’s plan, Ukraine will postpone discussions on joining NATO for at least 10 years, sources told the agency.
Read also our article: “Phone conversations with Putin and attempts to appease Russia have failed; hopes for peace in Ukraine are fading; and Russian troops are pouring deadly strikes on Ukrainian cities, killing Ukrainian kids.”
