At the beginning of May, the United Kingdom was the first to authorize kyiv to use their equipment, including Storm Shadow cruise missiles, to strike Russian soil. The United States could quickly follow.
One by one, the red lines imposed on Ukraine by its allies are disappearing. Since the start of the war, Western countries have formally prohibited Kiev from using the weapons they provide to strike Russian territory, in order to reduce the risk of escalation in the face of a nuclear power. But at the beginning of May, the United Kingdom was the first to break down this dike, by authorizing the Ukrainians to use their equipment, and in particular the Storm Shadow cruise missiles, to strike Russian soil. The United States could quickly follow, according to a recent survey by the New York Times .
Friday May 24, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg followed in the footsteps of the two Anglo-Saxon countries, in an interview with The Economist . “The time has come for the allies to consider the possibility of lifting some of the restrictions they have imposed on the use of weapons sent to Ukraine”, he estimated. Particularly in the context of the ongoing Russian offensive around Kharkiv, the country’s second city located a few dozen kilometers from the border. “Denying Ukraine the ability to use these weapons against legitimate military targets on Russian territory makes its defense very difficult”argued the secretary general of the alliance.
More efficient than local drones
Friday May 17, Modem deputy Jean-Louis Bourlanges, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, called on France to also “come out of one’s reserve» and change its position on the subject. “This change in doctrine is perfectly legitimate insofar as it puts an end to the unacceptable asymmetry between the situation of the attacked and that of the aggressor”, he justified. France delivers Scalp cruise missiles to Ukraine, a tricolor version of the Storm Shadow. In recent months, Ukraine has mainly used locally produced drones, with limited capabilities, to strike Russian territory.
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In an interview with AFP the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also pleaded for Ukraine’s allies to authorize it to use the weapons provided as it sees fit. He argued that these missiles would be used as defensive weapons.
Russia clearly takes this threat seriously. When the UK gave Ukraine clearance, the Kremlin threatened to strike British military targets “on the territory of Ukraine and beyond”. Thursday, May 23, spokesperson Dmitri Peskov estimated that a similar decision by the United States would constitute a “escalation”. Jens Stolteberg is also aware of this. “We must prevent this war from becoming a conflict between Russia and NATO in Europe”he confides The Economist. “But we are not directly involved from NATO territory in combat operations in Ukraine”he tempered.