The U.S. Takes Revenge On Kremlin For North Korean Missiles

The West raises the bar in the confrontation with Moscow.

After Biden signed a new law on assistance to Ukraine, the Ukrainian forces will get new weapons in a few days, including ATACMS long-range missiles.

When it became known that there would be a separate mention of ATACMS missiles in the new law, some observers even considered it a kind of trap for Joe Biden, who did not want to give Ukraine these long-range missiles.

They stressed that now Biden would either have to agree with the decision of the U.S. Congress or provide congressmen with an explanation why the missiles could not be transferred to the Ukrainian army. However, the biggest sensation was not that Biden was not even going to argue with Congress about the supply of these long-range missiles, but that the missiles were delivered to Ukraine even before the law was passed. They were used to hit targets in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.

First, this was reported by the media, and just a few hours after such reports, United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with official confirmation that the ATACMS missiles were in packages that the United States had the opportunity to provide to Ukraine even before the adoption of the new law. He noted that ATACMS missiles began to be supplied to the Ukrainian army after it became known that Russia was using missiles that it received from North Korea.

The United States decided to demonstrate to Russia that its attempts to use missile technology, which will be supplied by the allies from the so-called "axis of evil", will only lead to the fact that the Western countries themselves will raise the bar in the confrontation with Moscow. At the same time, the APU will receive modern and effective weapons for the destruction of Russian military facilities in the occupied territories.

Another important motive that could prompt the US administration to immediately begin supplying long-range missiles to the Ukrainian Defense Forces was the problems that the Ukrainian army encountered due to the delay in systematic assistance from the United States.

At a briefing at the White House, Sullivan did not hide the fact that it was the lack of such assistance that led to the loss of Avdiivka. In fact, he confirmed the information provided by Ukrainian officials after the invaders managed to break into Avdiivka. Sullivan regretfully stressed that it would take a lot of effort to make up for the situational failure that occurred as a result of delaying help.

This is not just a political statement that sounds during the election campaign in the United States. This is a sober assessment of the situation that has arisen as a result of the fact that Congress was unable to accept military assistance to Ukraine in time.

Of course, it is positive that the congressmen have now been able to hold effective votes. The amount of assistance that Biden offered did not change. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has prepared for the decisions of the Congress and new weapons will be quickly delivered to Ukraine. These are all positive results.

But what will happen now at the front can be called exactly the term used by the US presidential aide – catching up. From the autumn of last year until the spring of 2024, the Russians managed to take advantage of the opportunity that opened up for them as a result of the delay in assistance. The political appetites of Russian President Vladimir Putin have also increased. He can hope for an offensive of his troops and the seizure of new territories of Ukraine.

Here we see the logic with the provision of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. To deter Russia’s offensive and create conditions for restoring the integrity of Ukraine, and in the future – to end the war – the Ukrainian army needs modern weapons that destroy the enemy's positions and increase its losses.

Ukraine can fight its enemy only with the prompt assistance of the West. Against this background, the delivery of the ATACMS is one of the first steps in understanding the need for qualitative changes in the armament of the Ukrainian army. Only qualitative changes that will increase the losses of Russians and prevent them from entering Ukraine, create the conditions for the war to end with the success of Ukraine and the triumph of international law.

Vitaly Portnikov, youtube.com