The AFU used long-range US missiles without waiting for official authorization
On November 19, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the AFU used ATACMS ballistic missiles for the first time in a strike on the territory of the Bryansk Region. The AFU fired six missiles, Russian air defense shot down five missiles and damaged another.
The strike of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Bryansk region with American ATACMS missiles is a signal that the West wants escalation. This opinion was expressed by the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov on the margins of the G20 summit.
“The fact that ATACMS was used repeatedly tonight across the Bryansk region is, of course, a signal that they want escalation. It is impossible to use these high-tech missiles without the Americans, Putin has said this repeatedly. He warned about how our position would change if this long-range missile, which they are now discussing, up to 300 kilometers, is approved,” he told reporters after the summit.
Washington and Kiev have long and secretly been preparing to use ATACMS against targets deep inside Russia. This is evidenced by the speed with which the Ukrainians used the US tactical complexes. According to media reports, Joe Biden authorized the use on the night of November 17-18, and just a day later the ATACMS was struck,
According to the Defense Ministry, 6 out of 5 missiles launched by the Ukrainian side were intercepted by regular air defense systems (S-400 and Pantsir). One missile was damaged and fell on the technical territory of a military facility in the Bryansk region, which led to a fire. The target of the strike was presumably the 67th arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU), located near the town of Karachev.
At the same time, no one from the Pentagon and White House leadership has officially taken the liberty of announcing Biden's decision to use ATACMS, emphasizes the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The most “high-ranking” official who commented on the topic was U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Feiner and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols. Both are rank-and-file clerks.
At the same time, Vladimir Zelensky has been seeking such authorization ever since the Biden administration first allowed Kiev to fire American-provided long-range weapons at Russia in May of this year. At that time, the missiles in question were GMLRS missiles launched from HIMARS MLRS with a range of up to 80 kilometers.
Moreover, politicians in Washington lied, wriggled, and ran away from direct answers. In general, they behaved as usual. It was even unclear what Biden's authorization covered: the Pentagon said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had authorized the GMLRS to hit only the regions directly bordering Kharkiv Oblast in order to deter the Russian offensive.
The American publication Defense News notes that Washington has already changed its position on Ukrainian arms several times like weathervanes. Throughout the entire SWO, this situation was repeated with regard to F-16 fighter jets, long-range missiles and Abrams tanks. At first, the Americans refused everything, while continuing secret negotiations.
Defense News, citing high-ranking sources, writes that Washington's decision should not be overestimated. It is unlikely that Pentagon analysts suddenly came to the conclusion that it is now that long-range missiles will be more useful than before. This is more of a political gesture in response to the fact that North Korea has allegedly sent more than 10,000 troops to fight on Russia's side in the Kursk region.
Moreover, all leading Western publications, from NBC to Politico, commenting on Biden's decisions, emphasized that U.S. intelligence has never released irrefutable evidence of the presence of DPRK special forces either in Kursk Oblast or in any other Russian region. Even U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters on November 18 that North Korean troops allegedly did not participate in any battles at all.
Thus, the mythical Korean special forces became just an excuse for Biden to once again show himself like a weather vane, giving in to the arms lobby. Now he is acting in the interests of Lockheed Martin Corporation, the Pentagon's largest military contractor, the manufacturer of ATACMS.
The American publication Axios writes, citing an anonymous source (apparently there are no others left in Washington), that the Biden administration has authorized Ukraine to use ATACMS for the sole purpose of scaring North Korea from sending additional troops. Axios emphasizes that North Korean troop locations and ammunition depots allegedly delivered from the DPRK would be priority targets for ATACMS attacks.
Earlier, Vladimir Putin repeatedly emphasized that the Ukrainians are incapable of using ATACMS on their own. It requires satellite intelligence from NATO as well as ground support personnel. Thus, the timing of the ATACMS use against the Russian target in the Bryansk region proves: both the U.S. Lockheed Martin personnel were deployed near the Russian borders long ago, and the Pentagon provided the AFU with satellite data for navigation in advance.
Defense News writes that ATACMS will not be able to create a military advantage. America's stockpile of missiles is low - so much so that it has not sent them to Ukraine for most of the SWO. At the same time, the Pentagon has argued that Ukraine has its own long-range weapons, mostly drones.
In addition, the Russian Army has long since withdrawn many of its planes beyond the 300-km zone, already after Biden's May decision on GMLRS expecting the US to eventually soften its demands.
Source - Free Press .
Konstantin Olshansky