Its Over

...worryingly this escalation of the Ukraine-Russian war could be the major catalyst for a forthcoming market crash!
...let's hope sensibilities prevail.
NATO official backs long-range strikes on Russia despite risk of war expanding
Lolita Baldor
Sep 15, 2024 – 4.38pm

Prague | The head of NATO’s military committee said on Saturday (Sunday AEST) Ukraine had the legal and military right to strike deep inside Russia to gain combat advantage – reflecting the beliefs of a number of US allies – even as the Biden administration baulks at allowing Kyiv to do so using American-made weapons for fear of direct conflict with Russia.

“Every nation that is attacked has the right to defend itself. And that right doesn’t stop at the border of your own nation,” said Admiral Rob Bauer, speaking at the close of the committee’s annual meeting, also attended by US General CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Admiral Bauer, of the Netherlands, added that nations also had the sovereign right to put limits on the weapons they send to Ukraine.

His comments came as US President Joe Biden considers whether to allow Ukraine to use American-provided long-range weapons to hit deep into Russia, the world’s largest nuclear-weapon state. And they hint at the divisions over the issue.

Mr Biden met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday, after their top diplomats came under fresh pressure to loosen weapons restrictions during a visit to Kyiv. US officials familiar with discussions said they believed Mr Starmer was seeking Mr Biden’s approval to allow Ukraine to use British Storm Shadow missiles for expanded strikes in Russia.

Mr Biden’s approval may be needed because Storm Shadow components are made in the US. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they believed Mr Biden would be amenable, but there has been no decision announced yet.

Providing additional support and training for Ukraine was a key topic at the NATO chiefs’ meeting, but it wasn’t clear on Saturday if the debate over the US restrictions was discussed.

Many of the European nations have backed Ukraine, in part because they worry about being the next victim of an empowered Russia.

Czech Republic President Petr Pavel urged the military chiefs to be “bold and open in articulating your assessments and recommendations. The rounder and the softer they are, the less they will be understood by the political level”.

The allies, he said, must “take the right steps and the right decisions to protect our countries and our way of life”.

On Thursday, Russian president Vladimir Putin warned use of the long-range weapons would draw NATO directly into the war, because satellite targeting data and the know-how required to programme the missiles’ flight paths had to be carried out by NATO personnel.

“So this is not a question of allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not. It is a question of deciding whether or not NATO countries are directly involved in a military conflict,” Putin told Russian state TV.

“This will be their direct participation, and this, of course, will significantly change the very essence, the very nature of the conflict.”

The military leaders routinely develop plans and recommendations that are then sent to the civilian NATO defence secretaries for discussion and then on to the nations’ leaders in the alliance.

The US allows Ukraine to use American-provided weapons in cross-border strikes to counter-attack Russian forces. But it doesn’t allow Kyiv to fire long-range missiles, such as the ATACMS, deep into Russia. The US has argued that Ukraine has drones that can strike far and should use ATACMS judiciously because they only have a limited number.

Ukraine has increased its pleas with Washington to lift the restrictions, particularly as winter looms and Kyiv worries about Russian gains during the colder months.

“You want to weaken the enemy that attacks you in order to not only fight the arrows that come your way, but also attack the archer that is, as we see, very often operating from Russia proper into Ukraine,” said Admiral Bauer. “So militarily, there’s a good reason to do that, to weaken the enemy, to weaken its logistic lines, fuel, ammunition that comes to the front. That is what you want to stop, if at all possible.”

General Brown, for his part, told reporters travelling with him to the meeting that the US policy on long-range weapons remains in place.

But, he added: “By the same token, what we want to do is – regardless of that policy – we want to continue to make Ukraine successful with the capabilities that have been provided” by the US and other nations in the coalition, as well as the weapons Kyiv has been able to build itself.

“They’ve proven themselves fairly effective in building out uncrewed aerial vehicles, in building out drones,” General Brown told reporters.

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has made similar points, arguing that one weapons system won’t determine success in the war.

“There are a number of things that go into the overall equation as to whether or not you know you want to provide one capability or another,” Mr Austin said. “There is no silver bullet when it comes to things like this.”

He also noted that Ukraine has already been able to strike inside Russia with its own internally produced systems, including drones.