“American intelligence believes that if Ukraine is granted permission to use long-range missiles for strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation, Russia may respond with more aggressive actions. This could include lethal attacks against the US and its allies.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
American intelligence believes that if Ukraine is granted permission to use long-range missiles for strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation, Russia may respond with more aggressive actions. This could include lethal attacks against the US and its allies.
Source: “European Truth” with reference to The New York Times
Details: The previously unreported intelligence assessment also downplays the impact the long-range missiles will have on the course of the conflict, as the Ukrainians currently have limited weapons and it is unclear how many more, if any, Western allies might provide.
The assessment highlights what intelligence analysts consider to be the potential risk and uncertain benefit of making such a decision to allow long-range strikes deep into the Russian Federation.
The data obtained may partly explain why it was so difficult for Biden to make this decision and demonstrate the internal pressure on him that forced him to refuse Zelensky’s request. U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters and internal discussions, said it remains unclear what Biden will decide to do.
Zelenskyi publicly and privately lobbied for authorization to use missiles.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has often resorted to threats to dissuade the United States and its coalition partners from providing Ukrainians with more modern weapons systems.
Critics of Biden and his advisers say they are too easily intimidated by Putin’s hostile rhetoric and that the administration’s gradualist approach to arming Ukrainians has put them at a disadvantage on the battlefield. Supporters of their approach say it has been largely successful in preventing a violent Russian response.
British leaders were less risk-averse. They favored allowing the Ukrainians to use the long-range missiles they provided to strike deep into Russia, but they were waiting for Biden’s position on the issue before authorizing strikes because a potential Russian response could have implications for coalition security in as a whole
The intelligence report describes a range of possible actions by Russia in response to the decision to allow long-range strikes by US- and European-made missiles, from increasing arson and sabotage at facilities in Europe to potentially lethal attacks on US and European military bases.
American officials say the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency, is responsible for most of the acts of sabotage in Europe that have occurred so far. If Putin decides to expand the shadow campaign in response to the use of US and European missiles deep in Russia, US officials believe the Russians will continue to do so covertly rather than launch open attacks on US and European facilities and bases to reduce the risk of a wider conflict.
We will remind:
- On September 25, Putin announced that Russia would expand the conditions under which it is ready to use nuclear weapons.
- The EU said that Putin’s new nuclear threats will not change the position of the European Union regarding continued support for Ukraine
- The head of the British Foreign Ministry said that a decision on the lifting of restrictions for Ukraine on the use of Western long-range weapons for military purposes on the territory of Russia can be made before the beginning of winter.