The Biden administration took what many say to be a dangerous path toward inciting a more significant conflict after they authorized the Ukrainian military to use long-range missiles supplied by the United States to strike targets inside Russia. That decision caused President-elect Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., to accuse Biden of attempting to start “World War III” before his father is inaugurated on January 20, the New York Post reports.
Biden gave Ukrainian president Zelensky authorization to order his military to use long-range, American-supplied missiles against Putin. This move starkly contrasts Trump’s desire to de-escalate and hopefully end the nearly three-year conflict.
The younger Trump tweeted that the “military-industrial complex” is trying to undermine the incoming administration by escalating the war before his father gets a chance to end it.
“The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives,” he posted on X.
“Gotta lock in those $Trillions. Life be damned!!!!! Imbeciles!”
The decision by Biden, 81, will allow the Zelensky regime to use the US-suppled Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) in the Kursk region, located on the northeast border between the two combatants. The missiles carry a range of approximately 190 miles and have a “massive blast radius,” which can expand to about a kilometer depending on the warhead carried.
Ukraine wasted no time deploying the missiles. According to the New York Times, Ukraine fired the ATACMS into Russia on Tuesday, citing senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials. The outlet said the pre-dawn attack hit an ammunition depot in the Bryansk region of southwestern Russia, Ukrainian sources said.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that Ukraine used six ATACM ballistic missiles. That report was confirmed by a senior American official and a senior Ukrainian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
While the strike demonstrated a show of force for Ukraine, intended to degrade Russia’s combat capabilities and relieve pressure on Ukraine’s war-wearing military, it may also provoke Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The attack came even as Putin lowered Russia’s threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, a move that has been planned for quite some time. The timing of this decision, coupled with Ukraine's use of American missiles to strike inside Russian territory, could potentially lead to an ominous escalation of the war, raising serious concerns about the potential nuclear risks involved.
Since the conflict began, Russia has warned about deploying its nuclear arsenal as a means to deter the West from supplying robust military support for Ukraine, the Times said. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei V. Lavrov, said Ukraine’s use of ATACMS is “a signal that they want escalation”--widely believed to be directed to the United States and our Western allies.
Zelensky has been begging the U.S. for months for permission to use the ATACMS to hit military targets inside Russia. However, Ukrainian officials and military analysts have stated that the ATACMS will only prove effective if sufficient quantities of the missile are provided.
February will mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, a conflict that has reportedly claimed the lives of thousands of Ukrainian civilians.
President-elect Trump has vowed to end the war and claims he could do so “within days.” After achieving his election victory on Nov. 5, Trump called both Zelensky and Putin.
“As President Trump has said on the campaign trail, he is the only person who can bring both sides together in order to negotiate peace, and work towards ending the war and stopping the killing,” Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, told The Post.
The president-elect has not revealed how he plans to end the war.
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