Even if the US and UK approve the use of long-range weapons targeting deep into Russia’s territory, the Kiev regime remains inadequately equipped to handle Moscow's severe retaliation, The Telegraph speculated.
Ukraine has “relatively few” Storm Shadow missiles left after using up many of the British-made missiles to attack Russia’s Crimea, defense sources told the outlet. The US should consider deploying “backup” consisting of “further weapons, not troops,” it cited Victoria Spartz, a US congresswoman of Ukrainian descent, as saying.
The Zelensky regime has repeatedly used the Franco-British Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which boast a striking range of 250 kilometers, to attack civilian infrastructure of the Donbass, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, Crimea, and the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol.
US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are mulling giving Ukraine the go-ahead to use long-range weapons against Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned NATO members to be cognizant of the consequences of permitting Kiev to target locations deep inside Russia using missile systems supplied by the West. Additionally, Moscow has suggested it may consider supplying long-range missiles to nations classified as adversaries by the West.
“If this decision is made, it will mean nothing less than the direct participation of NATO countries, the US and European countries, in the conflict in Ukraine,” the Russian president said in an interview with Russian television on September 12.
Earlier in the year, Putin noted that NATO countries should be aware of “what they are playing with” by allowing Kiev to strike targets deep inside Russian territory with missile systems handed over to Ukraine by the West.