‘RED LINE’ AND THREAT FROM RUSSIA AGAINST U.S.

Fri 16 September 2022:

The United States would cross a “red line” and join the conflict in Ukraine if it decided to give Kiev longer-range missiles, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Russia “reserves the right to defend its territory,” said Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, in a briefing on Thursday.

Advanced guided multiple launch rocket system (GMLRS) rockets, which are fired from high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) launchers and can hit targets up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) away, have been openly supplied to Ukraine by Washington.

“If Washington decides to supply longer-range missiles to Kyiv, then it will be crossing a red line, and will become a direct party to the conflict,” Zakharova said.

According to US officials, Ukraine has pledged not to attack Russia directly with US rockets.

Longer-range ATACMS tactical missiles, which have a range of up to 300km, can also be fired from HIMARS launchers (186 miles). On August 19, a senior Ukrainian official refrained from confirming whether Kyiv now has ATACMS.

There has been no full public explanation of an attack on August 9 that hit a Russian air base at Saky, around 200km (124 miles) from the nearest Ukrainian-controlled territory, on the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014 in a move not recognised by the international community.

To assist it in fending off the Russian armed forces that entered Ukraine in February, Ukraine has asked for and received a sizable amount of weapons from the US and other Western allies.

The single largest US aid package for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion was announced last month when the US announced $3 billion in new military aid to Ukraine. Since the start of US President Joe Biden’s administration in January 2021, it has committed a total of roughly $10.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, according to the Reuters news agency.

In the “coming days,” the Biden administration is likely to announce a new military aid package for Ukraine, according to White House national security spokesman John Kirby.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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