NYT: The US recognizes the need to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with additional weapons to strike the Crimea
WASHINGTON, January 19 – RIA Novosti. The administration of US President Joe Biden is beginning to recognize that Kiev may need additional forces to attack the territory of Crimea. Writer The New York Times citing sources.
It was noted that the White House had until recently refused to supply Kiev with weapons for attacks against targets on the peninsula, but “now that line is beginning to soften.”
“The Biden administration has come to believe that if the Ukrainian military shows Russia that control over Crimea may be threatened, this will strengthen Kiev’s position in future negotiations,” the newspaper writes.
Also, “fears” about the possibility of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons in the White House have begun to subside, but officials and experts are reportedly still not ruling out such a possibility.
As a result, the administration is now considering one of its “most daring steps” – helping Ukraine attack the peninsula. The US is considering a range of weapons, including HIMARS and Bradley IFVs, as possible means of attack, but has refrained from supplying long-range missile systems.
US officials say they don’t know how (Vladimir) Putin would react if Ukraine attacked Crimea with American weapons.
On Wednesday, State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Kiev has made decisions on how to use Western weapons, and Washington has not decided on targets for Ukraine. Price stressed that the United States did not encourage or assist Ukraine to attack the Russian Federation, but that Crimea is not recognized as Russian territory.
Crimea became a part of Russia with the referendum held in March 2014 after the coup in Ukraine. In the referendum, 96.77% of the voters in Crimea and 95.6% of the voters in Sevastopol voted to join Russia. Ukraine still considers Crimea as its temporarily occupied territory, many Western countries support Kiev in this regard. The Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that the residents of Crimea vote for democratic reunification with Russia in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Crimean issue is “finally closed.”
Source: Ria
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