The US should stick to its long-standing policy of not allowing Ukraine launch long-range strikes deep into Russia as there are no longer any valid military targets within range, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said.
In an interview with Fox News released on Tuesday, Austin was asked why the administration of US President Joe Biden consistently rejects Vladimir Zelensky’s requests to lift the restrictions on firing ATACMS missiles, which have a range of about 300km, at targets on Russian soil.
Austin explained that “the Russians have already moved their aircraft beyond the range of ATACMS.” He added that Ukraine is now capable of producing its own drones, which can strike targets at a range of 400km or more.
Lifting Western restrictions on the use of foreign-made long-range weapons along with an invitation to immediately join NATO are two of the key demands of Zelensky’s ‘victory plan.’ Moscow has dismissed Kiev’s proposal as a “set of incoherent slogans” intended to push “NATO members towards a direct conflict” with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Western countries against allowing Ukraine to use their long-range weapons to strike Russia, noting that this could lead to a direct confrontation and possible nuclear war. He argued that Kiev would be unable to carry out such attacks on its own because such strikes rely on targeting data provided by NATO.
He has also ordered the country’s nuclear doctrine to be updated to treat “aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state” as a “joint attack.” Such an act of aggression would now be considered grounds for the use of nuclear weapons.
The New York Times also reported in September that US spies believed that if Washington were to reverse its policy on long-range strikes, Moscow could unleash harsh retaliation, including “sabotage targeting facilities in Europe” and “potentially lethal attacks on US and European military bases.”