She added that such a development "is not a priority" for president-elect Donald Trump.
"What might happen next: in case of such ATACMS strikes deep into Russia? NATO will be formally at war with Russia. This is not the priority for the incoming US President Trump. There might be turmoils, resignations within the US hierarchy," she said on Telegram.
Kneissl notes that Trump has already indicated plans for a "purge" within the American military due to the botched US troop pullout from Afghanistan in 2021, suggesting that some officials may get the boot.
Both the EU and the US will have to find a way out of the current situation, Kneissl said. In her opinion, the incoming US president may simply opt to disengage from the Ukrainian conflict, leaving this dilemma to European countries. Kneissl notes that military rhetoric in many areas has become a serious problem in the European Union, calling it "the remainder of what once was Europe."
Earlier, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed representatives of the US administration, that US President Joe Biden had for the first time authorized Ukraine to use American long-range missiles to attack Russian territory. According to sources, the first strikes deep into Russian territory will most likely be carried out with ATACMS missiles.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that permission to strike deep into Russia, if it was accepted and communicated to the Kiev regime, would spell a new round of escalation. He also recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin had clearly articulated Moscow's position on the matter of long-range strikes into Russian territory. Putin had previously indicated that NATO members were not merely contemplating Ukraine's potential use of Western long-range weapons; they were essentially deciding whether to engage directly in the Ukrainian conflict. Peskov noted that the direct involvement of Western countries would fundamentally alter the nature of the conflict, compelling Russia to respond to the new threats that such involvement would create.