by Renee Parsons
As the US takes one step closer to crossing a Russian red line with approval of new, more sophisticated weaponry for Ukraine, the threat of a new class of armaments in the hands of the unstable Ukraine President Zelensky raises great cause for concern. Protecting Russian sovereignty from NATO border provocations (including the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the Crimean peninsula which both split from Ukraine and unified with Russia in 2014) was the prime reason for February’s special military operation (SMO) in the first place.
The Russians have reiterated a dire warning about how it will further protect its own sovereignty:
That is, any attack by a US provided weapon or a US weapon operated by US personnel that strikes within Russia’s border will be interpreted by the Russians as crossing The Red Line, as an attack by the US on the Russian people; thereby ensuring a swift and significant military response directly to the US homeland.
US media outlets have confirmed that numbskulls in the Biden Admin have agreed to provide Ukraine with another $700 M in order to acquire the long range Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) which has a range of 186 miles, well within the Russian land mass and its more light weight companion, High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) which can be fired from a mobile vehicle at land targets within a range of 50 miles. With multiple missile pods, both long range missiles need to be operational by highly trained personnel qualified to adapt to specific operational requirements who perhaps may be stationed at the Pentagon.
In addition the US weapons package imminently on its way to Ukraine is said to include four armed MQ-1C Grey Eagle drones, as part of an advanced ‘killer’ drone system able to deliver a payload of hellfire missiles. While the Grey Eagle may still need legislative approval, that should be a slam-dunk for the Raytheon and Lockheed Martin clientele in Congress. While its primary purpose is surveillance, the Grey Eagle can also provide attack, assault and reconnaissance missions at 30,000 feet and function for up to 45 hours. The drone would also need to be operated by trained personnel which would also presumably need to be American, perhaps located at the Pentagon.
In response to Ukraine’s new military escalations, the Jerusalem Post has reported that Russia has increased its naval presence in the Black Sea with a landing force ready to perform its ‘intended tasks’ as part of the SMO with a dozen landing ships participating in the flotilla; three from the Northern Sea fleet, three from the Baltic Sea fleet and six from the Black Sea fleet. The ships are described as “large landing vessels capable of breaching and unloading soldiers and vehicles for an amphibious assault as well as transporting war materials to ports.” A good guess would be that the flotilla will be focused on protecting Odessa and the Crimea, both Black Sea ports, from a Ukraine invasion.
Whether the Biden Administration, he who is clearly not in charge of the Ship of State, has totally lost control of the Ukraine conflict has been obvious since the outset in February. Even as the conflict in Ukraine has never favored the Kiev government, compromised media sources have exaggerated and outright lied about the Ukraine Army trouncing the Russians creating the false narrative of a formidable Ukraine resistance while portraying Russia as fleeing from one defeat to another.
Now, after more than three months of conflict, the chickens are coming home to roost as the truth is undeniable. It is the dire military circumstances that require The West to bring up new guns in the hopes of staunching the flow of Ukrainian blood and halting the Russian advance. Even Zelensky has now agreed that Russia has ownership of 20% of Ukraine – the key 20% that Putin originally identified as needing to be ‘demilitarization’ and ‘denazification’ in addition to Zelensky’s admission of outside ‘pressure’ to seek a “peaceful resolution.”
Nevertheless, the conflict continues.
In response, while the Biden Administration has ‘received assurances’ from Ukraine that the long term missiles will not be used to wage war against Russia’s territory; but then …
On June 1st, when the White House announced that it would be sending to Ukraine weapons that might be used for invading Russia, Jonathan Finer, deputy White House national security adviser, said Washington had asked Ukraine for assurances the missiles would not strike inside Russia. On June 3rd, Ukraine’s Government rejected that request.
However, Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Alexey Arestovich claimed that “Crimea is ours. It belongs to Ukraine. And they [Russia] know it.” Ukraine politician Egor Chernev, a Ukrainian MP, said on Wednesday that Russian aircraft and military stationed on Russia’s territory are “legitimate targets” and in a frightening lack of conscience suggested “We have taken on certain obligations, but no one can guarantee where the missile will strike.”
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev explained the details of Russia’s proposed response:
‘If any weapon supplied by western nations hit Russian soil, we will hit the decision making center that sent the weapons.” “Russia will strike if these types of weapons are used against Russian territories, the armed forces of our country will have no choice but to act to defeat decision making centers. Everyone understands what kinds of center these are; they are not located on the territory of Kyiv. This is certainly a threat that will need to be taken into account.” Medvedev went on to explain that “The Americans stipulate this by saying that these systems will only be used on the territory of Ukraine; but for obvious reasons they do not fully control these decisions, which are applied and adopted by the Ukrainian authorities. Therefore, this is a threat of course that we must respond.”
And finally “These are not forecasts. This is what is already happening. We can assume that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are on their way already. All our hope is in Almighty God.”
Renee Parsons served on the ACLU’s Florida State Board of Directors and as president of the ACLU Treasure Coast Chapter. She has been an elected public official in Colorado, staff in the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, an environmental lobbyist for Friends of the Earth and a staff member of the US House of Representatives in Washington DC. She can be found at reneedove3@yahoo.com