Let Ukraine Bomb Russia
by Con Coughlin • August 6, 2023 at 5:00 am
The Ukrainian military's growing willingness to attack targets inside Russian territory is causing deep unease among some of Kyiv's Western allies, especially in Washington, where the Biden administration seems obsessed with preventing the Ukrainians from taking any action that might upset Putin.
While the White House has been reluctantly persuaded to give the go-ahead for Kyiv to be provided this equipment, the Biden administration remains reluctant to provide any kit that the Ukrainians could use to attack targets inside Russia.
Biden's failure to provide Ukraine with the weapons it requires to prevail on the battlefield, including the ability to attack targets inside Russian territory, demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of what is at stake in this dreadful conflict, namely the future security of the Western alliance.
A Ukrainian victory would not only inflict a devastating defeat on Putin and his authoritarian regime, it would send a signal to other autocratic regimes that they threaten the West and allies, such as Taiwan, at their peril.
Another concern that is inhibiting the Biden administration's handling of the Ukraine crisis are fears that if Putin is removed from power, he could be replaced by an ultra-nationalist who would make the threat Russia poses to global security even worse -- an eventuality that is bound to happen at some point and, to a strong US government, should probably be irrelevant.
There are also concerns about Moscow's constant threats to revert to nuclear weapons, even though this nothing more than a dangerous bluff on the part of the Kremlin, as China – among others – has made it clear it would not tolerate the use of such weapons. And without Chinese backing, Russia's predicament would be far worse.
Rather than exploring the possibility of negotiating a peace deal with Moscow, one that would inevitably betray Ukraine's sovereign integrity, Biden should be redoubling Washington's efforts to make sure that Putin's chances of surviving in power once the war is over are non-existent.
Ukraine's ability to launch attacks deep within Russian territory are vital if the Ukrainian military's counteroffensive is to stand any chance of liberating its territory from Russian occupation.
In recent days, Ukraine has launched a series of drone attacks against Russian targets, including two drone strikes against a skyscraper in central Moscow and an attempted drone strike against Russian naval ships in the Black Sea.
The skyscraper, which houses teams from Russia's Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, and Ministry of Industry and Trade, was the target of drone strikes on two consecutive days.
