Alexei Melnik: This Is A Tool Of Forceful Pressure On The Kremlin

The US authorized Ukraine to strike an ATACMS at a test site in the Voronezh region.

Ukraine for the first time under the presidency of Donald Trump has struck military facilities in Russia with U.S. ATACMS missiles. One of the targets, according to analysts, could have been a training range in the Voronezh region, where there was a concentration of Russian troops.

Why did Ukraine use ATACMS now and not earlier? Can we talk about the lifting of restrictions from the U.S.?

For a comment, Charter97.org turned to military expert, co-director of foreign policy and international security programs at the Razumkov Center in Kiev Alexei Melnik:

- There is information about the fact of using ATACMS missiles, and there is confirmation from the Russian side with photos of the debris. The peculiarity in the use of these missiles is that Ukraine has an obligation to the U.S. to agree on targets. Therefore, the obvious answer to this question is that these targets were agreed upon.

Ukraine could not use the missiles without receiving permission from Washington. Understandably, this is likely related to the broader context of Donald Trump's new approach to regulating the war by peacekeeping efforts, in which we are now seeing a certain bias towards forceful methods. As an example - the introduction of sanctions against two Russian energy companies, which are just beginning to take effect, but the effect is already quite tangible for the Russian oil and gas sector.

A parallel theme of "Tomahawks" was launched. In this case, it became clear that "Tomahawks" referred not so much to a specific type of missile, but to a general term for the transfer of long-range missiles to Ukraine and authorization for their use. These are tools of coercive pressure on the Kremlin.

- Why is the Russian military hiding the use of ATACMS and making up the story about the Grom-2?"

- I honestly haven't seen them trying to hide it. On the contrary, there are so-called military bloggers publishing the wreckage in their Telegram feeds. They use this fact to show that Russia is not at war with Ukraine, but with the entire NATO bloc, including the United States. A cognitive dissonance arises: the official line talks about improving relations with the United States, while in parallel there is an interpretation that the partner is launching missiles at them by the hands of Ukrainians.

- What other targets on Russian territory can be hit by these missiles?

- In principle, this can be tracked. The list of priority targets that Ukraine strikes is quite small. These are airfields, sites from which the Shaheds and missiles are launched. These are air defense systems and radars. These are military industrial facilities and the Russian fuel and energy complex. And at the same time, what is called "collateral damage" is essentially minimal. Ukraine is not firing purposefully at residential buildings. Those cases that occur are either the work of Russian air defense systems or REB. Ukraine in this case is fundamentally different from the Russian approach.

What the Americans give "permission" and what targets ATACMS can hit - this is what is included in the range. The list I have outlined. What was previously taboo was the fuel and energy complex and oil refining, because of fears that it could negatively affect oil prices. Now, as we can see, this ban or this recommendation has also been lifted.

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