United States is Considering Helping Ukraine Launch Strikes Against Crimea
Jose Nino
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On January 18, 2022, the New York Times reported that the United States is becoming more receptive to the concept of helping Ukraine conduct strikes against Crimea.
This has been one of the more controversial facets of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. The general fear in DC is that the US helping facilitate strikes on Russian territory, of which the Russian Federation views Crimea as part of its sovereign territory, will lead to heightened escalation.
The report cited unnamed US officials, who disclosed that the Biden regime is currently “starting to concede that Kyiv may need the power to strike the Russian sanctuary, even if such a move increases the risk of escalation” after much discussion with Ukrainian officials.
Thus far, Dave DeCamp of Antiwar.com noted that President Joe Biden has refused to send longer-range missiles to Ukraine that could strike targets in Crimea — something the Ukrainians have long coveted. Though US authorities are talking to Ukrainian officials on ways to attack the land bridge to Crimea. There is speculation that US-supplied HIMARS rocket systems and Bradley Fighting Vehicles could be used to attack the bridge.
Earlier in January, the US promised to send 50 Bradleys as part of a $3+ billion military aid package. As DeCamp reported, “The Bradleys could potentially help Ukraine go on the offensive, and a US official said the HIMARS could be used to hit Russian supply lines coming out of Crimea from Ukraine’s line in Kherson.”
A senior US official said to the Times that American and Ukrainian officials are supposed to meet this week in Germany to wargame a hypothetical offensive against Russia in southern Ukraine. However, the report revealed that even with the additional military aid, the Biden regime doesn’t believe Ukraine can retake Crimea.
The US’s line of thinking is that Crimea needs to be under constant attacks in order to give Ukraine leverage for future negotiations. US leaders assume that because Russia has not used tactical nukes against Ukraine after it launched limited attacks on Crimea and parts of Russia’s interior, Russia will not be pursuing further escalation. The problem with this line of thinking is that Russia has already responded to attacks on Crimea with heavy attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure that have left large parts of the country without power. While Russia’s future escalations may not be nuclear, they will still be devastating in nature for Ukraine and its population.
To bring peace to Ukraine, the US must stop military aid to Ukraine and let Russia and Ukraine, and perhaps some European countries, reach a negotiated settlement in this conflict. The current path will only lead to further death and destruction.
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