Ukraine Fired U.S.-Made Missiles Into Russia for First Time, Officials Say
By: Marc Santora and Eric Schmitt (The New York Times)
So, why aren't Democrats dancing in the streets? Joe Biden can scapegoat North Korea (Kim made him do it) and escalate the war for the incoming administration. Kiev can attack Moscow, Zelensky can attract more followers on social media, and Europe can ignore the thousands of miles of front line that Ukraine can't defend.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Nov. 19, 2024 -- Ukraine's military used American-made ballistic missiles on Tuesday to strike into Russia for the first time, according to senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials, just days after President Biden gave permission to do so in what amounted to a major shift of American policy.
The pre-dawn attack struck an ammunition depot in the Bryansk region of southwestern Russia, Ukrainian officials said. Russia's Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Kyiv used six ballistic missiles known as the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS. The senior American and Ukrainian officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations, confirmed that ATACMS were used.
The strike represented a demonstration of force for Ukraine as it tries to show Western allies that providing more powerful and sophisticated weapons will pay off — by degrading Russia's forces and bolstering Ukraine's prospects in the war.
Officials in Kyiv had pleaded for months for permission to use ATACMS to strike military targets deeper inside Russia before the Biden administration relented and gave its assent on Sunday. The authorization came just months before the return to office of President-elect Donald J. Trump, who has said he will seek a quick end to the war in Ukraine.
His election has cast uncertainty over whether the U.S. will maintain the robust military support it has provided Ukraine under Mr. Biden, or whether Mr. Trump might take a different approach.
The addition of up to 10,000 North Korean troops to Moscow's war effort this fall appeared to be what persuaded the Biden administration to shift its stance on ATACMS. The United States and its allies viewed their arrival as an escalation.
Andrii Kovalenko, a member of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said that Tuesday's strike in Bryansk hit warehouses housing "artillery ammunition, including North Korean ammunition for their systems."
Russia's Ministry of Defense claimed that five of the ATACMS missiles were shot down and another was damaged, saying that falling fragments caused a fire at a military facility but that there were no casualties.
The attack came on the same day President Vladimir V. Putin lowered Russia's threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, a long-planned move whose timing appeared aimed at showing the Kremlin could respond aggressively to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory with American long-range missiles.
President Vladimir V. Putin in Kazan, Russia, last month. Credit... Pool photo by Alexander Nemenov
The Kremlin has throughout the war used the threat of deploying its nuclear arsenal to try to deter the West from providing more robust military support to Ukraine. On Monday, the Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said President Biden's decision about the U.S.-provided long-range missiles "escalates tensions to a qualitatively new level."
Maria Varenikova contributed reporting from Kyiv, and Lara Jakes from Rome.
Marc Santora has been reporting from Ukraine since the beginning of the war with Russia. He was previously based in London as an international news editor focused on breaking news events and earlier the bureau chief for East and Central Europe, based in Warsaw. He has also reported extensively from Iraq and Africa.More about Marc Santora
Eric Schmitt is a national security correspondent for The Times, focusing on U.S. military affairs and counterterrorism issues overseas, topics he has reported on for more than three decades.More about Eric Schmitt
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Somehow Ukraine firing six missiles into Russia is going to turn the tide. Just ignore the hundreds of missiles fired by Russia. Ignore the thousands of miles of front line that Ukraine is not attacking. Ignore that Russia hasn't panicked over the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk.
Why is Biden and Zelensky so frightened of North Korean troops? Are they a real threat or just another bogeyman for the press to exploit for clickbait?
Why aren't Democrats celebrating Joe Biden's bold, aggressive strategy in the war for Ukrainian democracy?
Very good questions.
May I add another?
Will this move escalate the war to a new level?
It may take two to tango but, in this case, it takes three to escalate. Zelensky may have the desire but doesn't have the means.
Has Zelensky's incursion into Kursk given a bargaining chip to Putin? Zelensky keeps Kursk, Putin keeps Crimea. Sounds like Joe Biden's kind of deal.
10,000 NK troops in Russia with Kim stating yesterday he will send 100,000 more troops. I don’t suppose that you recognize the danger to Ukraine in that or the supports that Russia is in desperate need of.
I'd be much less concerned about a North Korean threat to Ukraine than what Kim Jong Un expects from Russia.
Is Russia really in desperate need? Or will Russia offer to exchange Kursk for Crimea?
The Neocons in this administration are obsessed with escalating the conflict to a NATO conflict. The threat of nuclear war has never been more real.
I think you've got something there.
Were you asleep for the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Or the Cold War.
So, it’s ok if Russia launches missiles into Ukraine, but when the missiles go in the other direction that’s bad?
We should just wait for Trump to give Ukraine to Russia. It's not like we need NATO anyway.
Maybe we'll just let him inherit WWIII.
Then we can have someone write an article asking what is he going to do about it.
So, the US should be on the hook to match Russia missile for missile? What is Ukraine attacking and how will that give Ukraine an edge in recapturing Russian occupied territory? What does the United States get out of this deal? Another quagmire.
Zelensky wants to escalate. Okay. What will that escalation achieve? Ukraine hasn't intimidated Putin in three years of fighting. Ukraine hasn't gotten the Russian population to overthrow the Putin regime after claimed heavy losses. Ukraine hasn't demoralized Russian front line troops to abandon the fight; Russia is still advancing. Ukraine can't sustain an escalation. Ukraine can't even hold the front lines inside Ukraine with its own resources. So, who is going to be the sugar daddy? Europe has had 3 years to build up munitions production and is still not producing sufficient supplies to allow Ukraine to even maintain a stalemate.