Belated Loosening of Restrictions on Ukraine Leaves World Stumbling Towards Greater Danger
It’s sometimes possible to forget in a chaotic world, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, as does Ukraine’s defense against its aggressor. Overlooking that ongoing and bloody conflict is unfortunate since recent developments have heightened tensions between Russia and its allies on the one hand, and the U.S. and NATO on the other. Not least of these developments is the exiting Biden administration’s belated decision to let Ukraine use American missiles against targets in Russia—leaving an exhausted Ukraine, the new Trump administration, and the world to deal with the consequences.
Escalation After Escalation
“President Biden has authorized the first use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine for strikes inside Russia,” Adam Entous, Eric Schmitt, and Julian E. Barnes of The New York Times reported last week. “The weapons are likely to be initially employed against Russian and North Korean troops in defense of Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region of western Russia, the officials said.”
The U.S. is also providing previously withheld antipersonnel mines.
The mention of North Korean troops refers to a prior escalation as North Korea dispatched thousands of combat troops to Russia to assist its ally’s war of aggression. Ukraine promptly took advantage of the loosened reins by striking a Russian military base with U.S.-made ATACMS missiles. Russia then upped the ante again with use of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile, threats to actually use nuclear weapons, and indications that it might strike an American military base in Poland. That last would be an explicit attack on NATO and require response by all its members.
Which is to say that the nasty, grinding, two-and-a-half-year-old invasion of Ukraine not only shows no end in sight but appears on the verge of spreading. And it’s heating up at a time when the United States is in the process of transition from a lame-duck president of questionable mental capacity to a new administration which won’t take office until January.
Belated Permission To Strike Back
Part of this timing can be laid on the Biden administration. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, that country’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials have begged for weapons and—as important—permission to use them as they see necessary. Instead, the U.S. and other western nations have selectively supplied arms, with hobbling restrictions on how and where they can be used.
“Mr Zelensky’s frustration is understandable,” The Economist observed in September. “In international law, the right of self-defence allows strikes on positions from which the aggressor’s attacks are launched or enabled.” The Economist added, “the real reason for Mr Biden’s reluctance is almost certainly fear of Russian escalation. Yet so many supposed Russian
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