With his forces on the offensive on Russian soil, Ukraine urges its allies to finally allow it to use long-range Western missiles to attack military targets deeper in Russian territory to diminish the ability of Moscow to supply their forces in the invaded country and carry out destructive air strikes from across the border.
Although Ukrainian drones continue to attack Russian airfields used by fighter planes that drop hundreds of bombs a week on Ukraine, their power does not allow them to deal a decisive blow to Russian military capabilities.
Drone attacks
«Ukrainian drones work exactly as they should. But there are things that cannot be done with drones alone. Unfortunately»the Ukrainian president stressed, Volodímir Zelenskiin his most recent evening address.
“We need other weapons: missiles,” he explained, noting that Ukraine needs “far-reaching decisions” to achieve victory.
Ukraine’s allies have banned it from using long-range missiles such as the ATACMS -in the case of USA– and the Storm Shadow/Scalp –United Kingdom y France-, while Germany has flatly refused to donate Taurus missiles.
“We have to do it. The bolder our partners’ decisions are, the less Putin will be able to do.”Zelensky said, referring to the Russian president.
Lack of escalation
The lack of any significant Russian reaction to the unexpected conquest of part of its own territory could pave the way for further decisive action by the allies, many in Ukraine hope.
“We have shown that we can go into Russia and hit it hard without causing any ‘escalation’ of the kind our allies fear.”“Olena, a 35-year-old resident of Lviv whose brother is fighting on the eastern front, told EFE.
The creation of a buffer zone along the border in the Kursk region has exposed Russia’s bluff and shows that Moscow has no real “red lines” whose crossing could lead to a major escalation, military analyst believes Oleksandr Kovalenko.
Before invading Ukraine, Russia “has been accustomed for decades to intimidating the entire world with nuclear weapons and fighting with weaker countries,” he wrote in an analysis for the group “Informative Resistance.”
“It is time for the West to finally open its eyes and make decisions based on new realities,” he demanded.
The impact on the war
Long-range missiles, such as ATACMS, are much more destructive and faster than drones and therefore more capable of evading Russian air defenses, Kovalenko explained to EFE.
Large Russian airfields like those in Voronezh y Morozovsk are within range and are used by dozens of fighter-bombers, he said.
The ban on attacks on them “only encourages Russia to continue terrorising Ukraine”, with more than 3,000 bombs dropped last month on army positions and residential areas.
Lifting it could also help secure Ukrainian advances on Kursk, the expert said.
«Ukraine could carry out attacks against enemy troop buildups outside Kursk and defeat the enemy before it engages in combat»Kovalenko explained.
New missiles
Even if the restrictions are lifted, the allies would have to supply many more missiles for the impact to be significant, he told EFE. Oleksi Melnikfrom the Razumkov Research Centre in kyiv.
Melnik believes the missiles could help prevent Russia from sending reinforcements into Ukraine, destroying its logistics networks across the border and thus limiting its progress in the east of the invaded country, where the situation has been worsening for kyiv.
With few F-16 fighters and few modern air defences available in Ukraine, massive attacks on Russian airfields would also be crucial to reducing their air superiority, another key factor in their advances.
The allies have repeatedly delayed key decisions such as sending modern tanks, missiles or fighter jets to Ukraine, although they have never provoked a “negative escalation” in doing so, Melnik argued, so according to him the policy of “not provoking” Russia is wrong. EFE (I)
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