US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who is traveling to Kiev in Ukraine, no longer opposes direct attacks on the Russian border.
Are we headed for an escalation in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine? Yesterday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken traveled to Queue, opening the door to a change in stance on the use of Western weapons. He no longer opposes direct attacks on Russian territory.
“We do not encourage allowing strikes outside of Ukraine. But ultimately, Ukraine will have to decide how to fight this war.”. Questioned by a journalist yesterday, Anthony Blinken didn’t beat around the bush: “There is no longer a red line for the use of American weapons.”.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron made a similar comment last week: “Ukraine has this right. With Russia attacking inside Ukraine, it’s understandable that Ukraine feels the need to make sure it defends itself.”.
Moscow later reacted strongly, with a Kremlin spokesman warning the British against dangerous escalation. But clearly, London and Washington are on the same wavelength. The United States recently and for the first time delivered long-range missiles to the Ukrainian military.
Until now, Kyiv could only strike inside Russia with its own means, and specifically its drones. Moscow has targeted military bases and energy infrastructure. Military incursions hit cities like Belgorod. The bridge connecting Russia to Crimea was bombed by Russian Navy ships in Black Sea bases.
kyiv is thus hoping to get Russian society to recognize the reality of the conflict and change public opinion, yet unite behind Vladimir Putin. But that may be wishful thinking.
The US announcement comes as Ukrainians retreat from front lines in Kharkiv. In recent days, the Russian army has captured 200 km² of land. This is not much, equal to half of the principality of Andorra. But that’s symbolic. The announcement by the British and Americans was intended to boost the morale of the Ukrainians and reassure them of the stability of Western support.
Now, some of the missiles fired at Russia are not headed for conflict. The results of these operations were limited and had no bearing on the course of the war. On the other hand, it is an interesting indicator of Moscow’s willingness to escalate the conflict or not. So far, however, despite threats, the Russians have not directly attacked Western interests, at least in the real world. One thing is certain, this extreme war is also a psychological war.
