Biden greenlighting strikes deep inside Russia polarizes Europe – former Pentagon analyst

Ukraine fired six US-made ATACMS missiles at a military facility in Russia's Bryansk region on November 19, with five of them shot down and one damaged by Russia's air defenses.

"It was probably intended as... part of a self-serving process to extend the war past January and February, so that the Democratic Party can blame Trump for the expected rump state dependency status of a demographically and economically devastated Ukraine," former Pentagon analyst, retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, tells Sputnik, commenting on Biden's decision to allow the Kiev regime to strike deep inside Russia with US-made long-range weapons.

Remarkably, it was the US press that informed the public about the development, which was interpreted by Kwiatkowski as part of political struggle inside DC.

While Western mainstream press speculates that Washington's European allies will follow the US' suit, there has not been any official approval by the UK, France or Germany for similar moves with their weapons, so far.

"This time, the US wrote a check that NATO countries are not willing to cash, and it is not clear that there was any prior coordination of Biden’s decision," Kwiatkowski says.

Following Ukraine's ATACMS attack, President Vladimir Putin authorized an updated nuclear doctrine that sets out the conditions for Russia's use of nuclear arms, including in response to conventional strikes and/or an attack by a "non-nuclear state” backed by a nuke-armed nation.

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ATACMS and GMLRS: maximum range and possible threat to Russia

Russia’s air defense forces rally to protect their homeland as the White House gave a green light to Ukraine to launch long-range strikes deep into Russian territory.

This infographic prepared by Sputnik shows how far into Russia the Kiev forces can strike using GMLRS rockets and ATACMS missiles – two types of long-range ordnance supplied to Ukraine by the West – giving their maximum range and the current situation on the battlefield.

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🗣 US is not surprised by Russia’s publication of its updated nuclear doctrine, according to the US State Department

US sees no reason to change its own nuclear policy after Russia’s doctrine update, State Department claimed.

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ATACMS strike on Russia’s soil equates a declaration of war - expert

The November 19 ATACMS missile strike against the Bryansk Region means that the US allowed Ukraine to use these missiles to strike into Russia’s territory, which in turn means the United States de facto declared war on Russia, says Russian military expert and air defense forces historian Yuri Knutov.

“This is essentially an act of declaring war upon our country,” he told Sputnik.

According to Knutov, this is exactly why the Biden administration and the Pentagon refrained from officially confirming giving Kiev the permission to use those missiles against Russia, to thus avoid making an official declaration of war.

He argues that this is a part of a scheme by three countries – the US, France and Britain – to de facto wage war against Russia, pointing out that Paris and London also moved towards allowing Ukraine to use French Scalp and British Storm Shadow missiles against Russian territory.

Regarding the recent ATACMS strike on Russian soil, Knutov warns that these missiles present a difficult target for Russian air defenses, in no small part due to the fact that many of such missiles provided to Ukraine by the US feature cluster warheads.

Thus, even if such a missile gets intercepted, there is always risk of its warhead detonating in the process and hitting the intended target and/or inflicting damage on anything in range with cluster submunitions.

“S-400 air defense systems, which are capable of intercepting more swift and maneuverable targets, are quite successful against them (ATACMS),” Knutov notes. “And our Pantsir air defense system, which is a universal weapon capable of intercepting drones and tactical missiles like ATACMS alike, is quite successful as well.”

He also mentions that Russian defense manufacturers constantly improve air defense systems to make them more efficient in countering threats like ATACMS missiles.

As telemetry data from missile flights is accumulated by air defense specialists, it is then used to improve the software of air defense systems, thus improving these weapons’ ability to intercept incoming threats.

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Netanyahu promises $5 million for each returned hostage

Israel has not given up trying to locate the 101 remaining hostages, Israeli Prime Minister said in a statement made during a visit to Gaza.

"Choose, the choice is yours, but the result will be the same. We'll get them all back," he added.

AP news previously reported that Israel spent up to $4.7 billion monthly on the military in 2023.

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❗️Trump nominates Howard Lutnick for Secretary of Commerce

A billionaire with 30 years of Wall Street experience, Howard Lutnick also heads the Trump-Vance transition team.

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