After the United States, Britain and France came forward to help Israel intercept Iranian missiles and drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky complained that the West did not have "a bowl of water" to help its allies, and Ukraine also needed such air defense.
According to the Observer Network, U.S. President Joe Biden has signed a huge amount of more than $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, the most eye-catching of which is to provide long-range missiles to Ukraine. At the same time, the United Kingdom also announced that it would increase its military support for Ukraine, including 500 million pounds of "additional military funding" and "the largest delivery of important equipment in history". In this regard, we will talk about three topics.
First, behind the big moves made by the United States and Britain, what did they send to Ukraine?
Regarding the list of $60 billion to aid Ukraine, the US side said that it will mainly include anti-aircraft missiles, ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems, armored vehicles, anti-armor weapons, small arms and related equipment urgently needed by Ukraine. In addition to the above, the most eye-catching of the United States' military aid to Ukraine this time is the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), that is, the provision of long-range missiles to Ukraine.
It was observed that this is also the first time that the United States has provided long-range weapons to Ukraine, and it also shows that the United States has once again escalated the scale of the conflict. The deputy chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff claimed that long-range missiles would help Ukraine "destroy the logistics nodes and rear units of the Russian army." The missile is said to have a range of up to 300 kilometers and has been secretly used twice by the Ukrainian army, once to attack a Russian airfield in Crimea and once to attack Russian units in the southeastern region of Ukraine.
U.S. presidential national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that when the United States provided Ukraine with long-range missiles, Kyiv promised that it would not use this weapon to hit targets in Russia. But in Ukraine's view, Crimea and the two oblasts of eastern Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia Oblast in the southeast, and Kherson Oblast in the south are all Ukrainian territory, and although they announced their annexation to Russia after the referendum, Ukraine does not recognize them.
Therefore, the use of US-aided long-range missiles in these places may be a huge "hidden danger," and once detonated, the consequences will be unimaginable.
In the UK's "largest military aid in history", the 500 million pounds are mainly used to deliver ammunition, anti-aircraft weapons, drones and other engineering support materials urgently needed by Ukraine. As a result, in the 2023-2024 financial year, British aid to Ukraine has reached 3 billion pounds. The equipment delivery list includes 60 ships of various types, 1,600 ground-attack missiles and anti-aircraft missiles, "Storm Shadow" long-range precision-guided air-launched cruise missiles, more than 400 military vehicles, including 162 armoured vehicles, and 4 million rounds of light weapons and ammunition.
In this regard, British Prime Minister Sunak said that the British side provided these equipment to ensure that Ukraine has the necessary materials when fighting Russia. And British Defense Secretary Shapps proudly said that Britain was the first country to provide Ukraine with anti-tank missiles, active main battle tanks and long-range cruise missiles, and "with our support, Ukraine will eventually win".
In fact, what Shapps did not say, including that the United Kingdom was also the first country to supply Ukraine with white phosphorus and depleted uranium armor-piercing shells, which has no "bottom line" than the United States. Britain plays the role of a "breakthrough in military aid to Ukraine", it is in the front of the interview, and the United States is following behind, so that Russia can never get angry. In addition to expressing his gratitude to the United States and Britain for their increased assistance, Zelensky also believes that "Ukraine's long-range strike capabilities, firepower and air defense capabilities are important tools for the rapid restoration of peace and justice."
Second, after the United States and the United Kingdom escalate the situation through military aid, will the Russia-Ukraine conflict expand?
Objectively speaking, this possibility is very high. First, the aforementioned Crimea and the four oblasts that joined Russia have been recognized as its official territory and enshrined in its constitution, which gives it the right to "use any weapon in the protection of its territory." This is also the main reason why Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu have repeatedly warned the West that if Russian territory is attacked, they will "use any available means to counterattack."
Then the problem arises, Ukraine believes that Crimea and the four states that have joined Russia are still its own territory and are "occupied by Russia", and when using long-range missiles aided by the United States, it will of course "greet" these places, and believes that this does not violate its commitment to the United States to "not strike at Russian territory". But Russia doesn't think so, once Ukraine's long-range missiles make it too passive, Russia's counterattack may be unprecedented. And the United States, which provides long-range missiles to Ukraine, will also be held jointly and severally responsible.
When this "fuse" will be lit depends on the proportionality of Ukraine's use of long-range missiles, and on Russia's endurance, which is very "delicate".
And Britain's behavior of constantly pushing up the intensity of the conflict, Russia, of course, saw it in its eyes, recorded it in the book, and repeatedly announced that "Britain has actually entered the war". It also suggests that once Russia and NATO completely tear their faces apart, Britain will be the preferred target. Earlier, the Russian parliamentarian had made it clear that "once a major war breaks out, the first target of Russian missiles will be London."
Obviously, Britain also knows that it is on Russia's "blacklist", so it continues to escalate the situation, hoping to use the power of NATO to greatly weaken Russia's national strength and reduce its own pressure.
Third, how did Russia respond to the West's escalation moves?
The first is to express attitudes. Regarding the United States secretly providing long-range missiles to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova accused the US government of trying to "deceive the international community." "Most people in the world should know what small actions the United States is doing behind the scenes, and Washington's plan is very simple, under the guise of 'peaceful intentions', to pull everyone to an empty rally, and then arm Ukraine," Zakharova said.
Of course, Russia's counterattack will never be soft, and it will do what it says, after the Ukrainian army uses long-range missiles, we can wait for Russia's military response.
The second is to provide data. On April 23, Russian Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that since the beginning of the "special military operation", the Ukrainian army has lost nearly 500,000 people. The Russian army shot down more than 22,000 Ukrainian drones and more than 860 aircraft, and intercepted 3,549 "Hippocampus" rockets and 361 "Vampire" rockets. Shoigu also disclosed that NATO has deployed about 33,000 troops, 300 tanks and more than 800 armored vehicles near the Russian border.
That is, while Russia is striking Ukraine, it is also preparing for "NATO intervention". Earlier, when Poland threatened to "prepare to deploy US tactical nuclear weapons", Russia had already responded strongly, and it would become a "legitimate target" in wartime. Russia's tactical nuclear weapons have been deployed in the "enclave" of Kaliningrad, which is basically 400-500 kilometers away from the capitals of Poland, Germany, Denmark and the three Baltic states.