The Biden-Harris administration is considering the possibility of committing the U.S. and other NATO countries to a direct shooting war with Russia — assuming Russian President Vladimir Putin is not bluffing about what for him constitutes a red line.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Wednesday in Kyiv, discussing the country's supposed progress toward NATO and EU membership as well possible escalations in its defensive war against Russia.
Extra to announcing more than $700 million more in assistance for Ukraine and speaking of "Ukraine's success, Ukraine's victory," Blinken signaled possible support for the embattled nation employing Western long-range weapons to strike targets deep within Russia.
The U.S. has up until now blocked the use of such weapons over fears of escalation.
The Times (U.K.) indicated, however, that American and British governments have been under mounting pressure to relax such restrictions, including by former elements of the military-industrial complex, NATO, and European political establishment.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha indicated at a joint press conference Wednesday that he had emphasized to Blinken and to Lammy that it was necessary to "remove all the obstacles and limitations with the use of British equipment, American equipment in the territory of Russia against military targets."
Blinken said that he was going to raise the matter with President Joe Biden who is meeting Friday with Britain's leftist prime minister, Keir Starmer, in Washington, D.C.
A reporter subsequently asked the trio about the use of American supersonic tactical ballistic missiles, which have a range of up to 190 miles, and the British-made Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of roughly 155 miles. Ukraine already has the latter but is only allowed to use them within its own territory.
'It would mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia.'
The reporter asked further whether the Blinken and his counterparts were still worried "about managing escalation with Russia."
"We discussed long-range fires, but a number of other things as well. And as I said at the outset, I'm going to take that discussion back to Washington to brief the president on what I heard," said Blinken.
Blinken intimated, however, the U.S. is open to lifting its restrictions, stating, "Just speaking for the United States, from day one, as you heard me say, we have adjusted and adapted as needs have changed, as the battlefield has changed, and I have no doubt that we'll continue to do that as this evolves."
Regarding fears of escalation, Blinken said, "Of course that's one of the factors that we always consider, but it's certainly not the only factor and it's not necessarily a dispositive factor."
According to the Agence France Presse, Putin said Thursday that an easing of the restrictions on long-range weapons would "in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict."
"It would mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia," added Putin, whose nation has over 5,000 nuclear warheads and boasts a supersonic missile with a range of 625 miles. "If that's the case, then taking into account the change of nature of the conflict, we will take the appropriate decisions based on the threats that we will face."
Putin characterized the decision to ease restrictions as a matter of choosing "whether NATO countries are directly involved in the military conflict or not."
Citing British government sources, the Times (U.K.) noted that the Biden-Harris administration might shift its position prior to the gathering of global leaders at the UN headquarters in New York later this month.
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American and European officials now believe the explosion that killed two people in Poland near the country's border with Ukraine was "very likely" caused by Ukrainian air defenses. Polish President Andrzej Duda stated that "there is no evidence that it was launched by the Russian side."
Amid a brutal Russian missile barrage targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure on Tuesday, an explosion rocked the Polish village of Przewodów, just five miles away from the Ukrainian border. Two farm workers were killed.
Ukrainian officials accused Moscow of a "major escalation."
While Polish combat planes were scrambled, Warsaw summoned Russia's ambassador.
A Russian attack on Poland would have been sufficient to trigger articles 4 and 5 of the NATO charter, potentially putting the U.S. into direct conflict with the nuclear power.
Duda, President Joe Biden, and the leaders of other allied countries held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to collectively determine their next steps. In the talks, Biden condemned the "scores and scores of missile attacks in western Ukraine."
Hours later, the Polish president indicated on Twitter that the explosion was instead an “unfortunate accident” caused by a "S-300 rocket made in the Soviet Union, an old rocket and there is no evidence that it was launched by the Russian side."
Barron's reported that the Russian defense ministry corroborated the Polish president's statement, stating, "Photographs of the wreckage ... were unequivocally identified by Russian military experts as fragments of a guided anti-aircraft missile of a Ukrainian S-300 air defence system."
"It is highly probable that it was fired by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense," added Duda.
Duda noted that "there are many indications that it was an air defense missile, which unfortunately fell on Polish territory."
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba dismissed the claim that the explosion was caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile, calling it a Russian "conspiracy theory."
According to Kiev, Russia launched over 90 missiles into Ukraine on Tuesday, 77 of which the Ukrainian military allegedly shot down.
The Guardian reported that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg similarly suggested that, on the basis of preliminary analysis, it appears that "the incident was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks."
"We have no indication that this was the result of a deliberate attack," said Stoltenberg, "and no indication that Russia is preparing offensive military actions against NATO."
While it may have been a Ukrainian missile, Stoltenberg stressed that the "tragic incident" is "not Ukraine’s fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine."
This sentiment was also expressed by Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski, who indicated that "we are dealing with a consequence of Russia's actions."
In concurrence with Duda and Stoltenberg, Biden suggested Wednesday morning that it is "unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that [the missile] was fired from Russia, but we’ll see.”
\u201cNOW - Biden says "preliminary" information suggests it is "unlikely" missile that killed two in Poland was fired from Russia.\u201d— Disclose.tv (@Disclose.tv) 1668564301
In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a forceful statement, saying, "Russian missiles hit Poland, the territory of our friendly country. People died."
Zelenskyy, keen on NATO's formal induction into the war, said, "The longer Russia feels impunity, the more threats there will be to anyone within reach of Russian missiles. To fire missiles at NATO territory! This is a Russian missile attack on collective security! This is a very significant escalation. We must act!"
\u201cZelensky: \u201cTerror is not limited to our national borders. Russian missiles hit Poland. \u2026 To fire missiles at NATO territory. This is a Russian missile attack on collective security! This is a very significant escalation. We must act.\u201d\u201d— Christopher Miller (@Christopher Miller) 1668543105
The Russians also jumped to conclusions.
The Washington Post reported that the Russian defense ministry intimated that the explosion was a false flag attack, calling it "a deliberate provocation in order to escalate the situation."
Polish President Andrzej Duda did not, however, jump to conclusions. He indicated that an investigation was under way and advised people to "be calm."
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki suggested that it may not be necessary to invoke NATO's Article 4. Nevertheless, NATO is set to meet on Wednesday at the request of Poland.
'All she wants to do is shoot missiles at people,' Trump said of the former Wyoming congresswoman who campaigned with Kamala Harris Thursday.
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