World Update 5/30/2024 - Switching Stances
Here's what you missed.
Ukraine War
I recently wrote about the Russian military starting a new offensive in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. This move by Russia prompted a stance switch from the US and Europe. They’re now allowing Ukraine to use the weapons they provide inside Russian territory. The immediate reason for this is that Russia was able to stage troops and attack Kharkiv from their mainland with minimal interruption because Ukraine was not allowed to attack them with western weapons. The Russian military is also attacking Ukraine with artillery while sitting inside of their mainland. Ukraine was essentially fighting with a hand tied behind it’s back, but now it’s free.
This decision also brings up another issue, The US & Europe did not allow Ukraine to attack the Russian mainland with before because they feared it might escalate the war. So are they not afraid now? Short answer is yes but it’s complicated. Ukraine has already been using their own weapons to attack the Russian mainland, from refineries to radar stations. Everyone who’s paying attention started to understand that there’s not much left up Russia’s sleeves. They’ve escalated as much as they could short of nuclear, weapons wise. They’re also mobilizing as much as they can short of making the war really unpopular in Moscow. US & Europe think the Russian’s are already putting out as much as they can and they don’t actually want nuclear war. So…. Bombs away!
This was always going to happen, if it’s actually the goal of these countries is for Ukraine to win. They knew if Russia is pushed back enough the Ukrainians would eventually encounter this problem. This decision was a given, it was just a matter of when.