https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/not-sending-taurus-missiles-to-ukraine-or-handicapping-them-only-way-to-avoid-escalation-1117233912.html
Not Sending Taurus Missiles to Ukraine or Handicapping Them Only Way to Avoid Escalation
Not Sending Taurus Missiles to Ukraine or Handicapping Them Only Way to Avoid Escalation
Sputnik International
Many analysts have warned that providing Kiev with German-made cruise missiles may only escalate the Ukrainian conflict.
2024-03-09T19:00+0000
2024-03-09T19:00+0000
2024-03-09T19:00+0000
ukraine
analysis
david cameron
earl rasmussen
taurus cruise missile
storm shadow cruise missile
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UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron expressed the Kingdom's readiness to assist Germany in overcoming any obstacles preventing the delivery of Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine during a recent interview with German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. He proposed a solution where London would provide Kiev with its own Storm Shadow missiles and procure replacements from Berlin.Despite German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's repeated dismissal of supplying Ukraine with missiles capable of striking deep into Russian territory, Cameron conveyed London's trust in Kiev's commitment to responsible missile usage, though he did not discount the possibility of imposing certain restrictions before supplying the weaponry.In an apparent attempt to dismiss concerns about the odds of Taurus missile shipments to Ukraine causing an escalation, Cameron insisted that everything would be okay since other similar predictions – for example, about long-range artillery and tank shipments causing an escalation – did not come true.“I don't trust Ukraine just getting a commitment from them. They're going to use them however they want to use them,” Earl Rasmussen, an international consultant and retired US Army lieutenant colonel, told Sputnik.Rasmussen suggested that, if the whole swap scheme of Britain procuring Taurus missiles from Germany in exchange for supplying Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine comes to pass, Kiev will probably get its hands on the Taurus missiles eventually.“Unless they do something technically to them, they're potentially going to be used to hit inside of Russia and then that'll escalate the counter effect. Maybe in his view escalation is tactical nuclear missiles. Who knows. But I would hope that that's not his definition,” he mused.According to Rasmussen, if the UK becomes “more directly involved” in the Ukrainian conflict, it would translate into a real risk of “expanding the war effort.”
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taurus missiles for ukraine, cruise missiles for ukraine, ukrainian conflict escalation
taurus missiles for ukraine, cruise missiles for ukraine, ukrainian conflict escalation
Not Sending Taurus Missiles to Ukraine or Handicapping Them Only Way to Avoid Escalation
Many analysts have warned that providing Kiev with German-made cruise missiles may only escalate the Ukrainian conflict.
UK Foreign Secretary
David Cameron expressed the Kingdom's readiness to assist Germany in overcoming any obstacles preventing the delivery of Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine during a recent interview with German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
He proposed a solution where London would provide Kiev with its own Storm Shadow missiles and procure replacements from Berlin.
Despite German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's repeated dismissal of supplying Ukraine with missiles capable of striking deep into Russian territory, Cameron conveyed London's trust in Kiev's commitment to responsible missile usage, though he did not discount the possibility of imposing certain restrictions before supplying the weaponry.
In an apparent attempt to dismiss concerns about the odds of
Taurus missile shipments to Ukraine causing an escalation, Cameron insisted that everything would be okay since other similar predictions – for example, about long-range artillery and tank shipments causing an escalation – did not come true.
“I don't trust Ukraine just getting a commitment from them. They're going to use them however they want to use them,” Earl Rasmussen, an international consultant and retired US Army lieutenant colonel, told Sputnik.
"I don't trust that from the long-term perspective, because we heard they weren't going to send tanks. We heard they weren't going to send ATACM missiles. And that seems to always change over time. So, I think the only way to avoid an escalation would be to either not send them or to provide some type of technical limitation on them, whether that's a targeting capability or whether that's firing capability for launching capability."
Rasmussen suggested that, if the whole swap scheme of Britain procuring Taurus missiles from Germany in exchange for supplying Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine comes to pass, Kiev will probably get its hands on the Taurus missiles eventually.
“Unless they do something technically to them, they're potentially going to be used to hit inside of Russia and then that'll escalate the counter effect. Maybe in his view escalation is tactical nuclear missiles. Who knows. But I would hope that that's not his definition,” he mused.
According to Rasmussen, if the UK becomes “more directly involved” in the Ukrainian conflict, it would translate into a real risk of “expanding the war effort.”
“If they're using their own launch vehicles, if they're firing from NATO ground, that then opens up NATO countries to be targets, which is definitely an escalation. I don't know what's in his mind,” he remarked. “A lot of our Western leaders seem to be somewhat delusional. So they have some type of a fantasy picture in their mind.”
