US Secretary of State Antony Blinken breaks with old principles in the Ukraine war. He wants to allow Ukraine to attack Russian targets with American weapons. A dangerous game that risks an uncontrollable escalation of the war, says our expert Gerhard Mangott.
For a long time there was a consensus among Ukraine’s supporters regarding the bombing of Russia with Western-supplied weapons. Now US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is opening a door that was tightly closed for a long time during the Ukraine war.
According to a report in The New York Times, the US State Department is working on a plan to identify missile and artillery sites on Russian territory.
These positions should then be able to be attacked with US weapons. Several senior officials in Washington confirmed these plans to the New York Times.
Gerhard Mangott, a professor of political science with a focus on international relations and security in the post-Soviet space, sees the move as strengthening Ukraine’s defense capability “should the Biden administration decide to allow Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.”
According to the New York Times, the proposal has not yet been submitted to the president. Although Biden is considered a strong supporter of aid to Ukraine, he is very cautious about a possible escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
If he still decides to agree to the proposal, Ukrainian troops could destroy both military and military-used civilian targets in Russia, such as oil depots, airports, energy facilities, railway junctions, Mangott tells FOCUS online.
“Ukraine could also use it to combat troop concentrations in deployment areas and make it more difficult,” said the expert. “That would have been particularly helpful given the Russian army’s recent offensive in the Kharkiv area.”
However, Mangott warns of the consequences. If Biden were to approve his Defense Department’s move, it would be a further escalation in a dangerous dynamic that could spiral out of control.
“It would be an escalation of the war by the West, which could ultimately become uncontrollable.” What will then be crucial is how Russia reacts to it.
“The mutual will to destroy would become even more unbridled,” said Mangott. Putin could then “react in the worst case scenario by moving tactical nuclear weapons to the Ukrainian border.”