A decrepit US President, Joe Biden, is reported to have authorized Russian long range weapon hits on Russian place. Olaf Scholz, the leader of Germany who has refused to send long-range Sagittarius weapons to Ukraine, has been dragged out of his grasp by his decision.  , Germany’s authorities had all but collapsed. Thanks to Biden, Scholz’s trust at house has now been damaged even further.
( It could be that Scholz knew Biden was going to accept ATACMS weapons, which is why he , telephoned Putin away of Biden’s walk to relieve ATACMS. Since Putin speaks European, we are unsure of what the two leaders might have said to one another during an hour-long telephone call.  , But it can be supposed that Scholz wanted to get targets in Germany off Russia’s list after Biden’s announcement. )
This is a dark column, and Russia has made it clear that NATO is at war with Russia.  , The Russians say that ATACMS rockets, fired from HIMARS launching systems, are operated by NATO experts, not by Russians.
There is significance in the Soviet debate. The reality is that if Ukraine had used ATACMS to control HIMARS rockets, they would have already attempted to shoot them at Russian goals like the Kursk nuclear plant and  , which they had previously attempted to attack with drones.  , The good news is the Russians do not handle them.
Use of ATACMS missiles wo n’t change the course of the war, nor its outcome.  , It does, however, guide to some unpleasant surprises as the choice has implications bigger than Ukraine.
Russians have n’t attacked any NATO offer bases throughout the conflict. Although the use of specific long-range robots and strikes on Russian ships in the Black Sea, particularly those operating close to Russian territory, crossed the line, the United States and its NATO allies have certainly attacked Russian territory.  ,
Russia has numerous options today as a result of Biden’s bad choice. It may strike US and NATO foundations outside of Ukraine, in Poland for instance.  , This may cause a public European-wide issue, but the Russians probably hold the upper hand and can destroy Europe, which has more to gain than the Russians.
Russia is also target its strikes on Ukraine, by destroying Kyiv for example. A complete weapon and bombing attack on the Polish capital area may result in the loss of many lives and the destruction of large tracts of land. Biden’s selection and Zelensky’s foolish passion supporting it ask precisely this kind of retaliation.
Even scarce are ATACMS weapons.  , They form an important element of US threats abroad, especially in the Asia Pacific region.  , Taiwan is getting ATACMS, but quite quietly, and the US Marines on Okinawa need them to arrest a Chinese conquest of Taiwan.  , The Marines have already , set up a radar station , on the small island of Yonaguni, and if tension rises indicating a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, the Marines will move HIMARS to Yonaguni, which is only around 111 kilometers (69 miles ) from Taiwan.
The US , quietly started shipping ATACMS rockets to Ukraine , next spring.  , They were sent as part of a last-ditch effort to try and protect Ukraine from battle.  , With a range of about 190 yards, the weapons can cause considerable damage if they are not intercepted by Russian weather threats.
According to reports, ATACMS will be used to stop the Ukrainians ‘ conquest of Kursk, which is located in Russian territory.  , Ukraine has put a large number of its best preventing divisions in Kursk, trying to hold onto that place.  , It is viewed as a “bargaining device” in an expected future dialogue with Russia.
However, the Russians have recently been bombing their back assembly areas and forcing them to flee Kursk, which has resulted in a terribly high death toll.  , Russia says that Ukraine has already lost 32, 000 military ( dead or wounded ) in the Kursk war, and the numbers continue to increase.
Russia has also lost many troops, but we do n’t know the actual number.  , But, the battle is asymmetrical , because Ukraine no long has the labor to sustain the Kursk activity and combat elsewhere , along the long line of contact with the Soviet army.
Cruise missiles supplied by the UK and France are the other long-range munitions that Ukraine and NATO use in the conflict. Both the English and French translations are very similar.  , Britain’s weapon is named Storm Shadow.  , The European type is called Scalp.
The highly regarded French magazine Figaro claimed that the British and French had authorized the launch of these missiles against Russia, but a subsequent version of the story removed the claim that France and Britain had given for permission.
Both Storm Shadow and Scalp are already in Ukraine, but they must get pre-targeted and operated by NATO employees. Despite their language, it seems that both the French nor the British are interested in escalating their conflict with Russia. But, the , UK Standard, quoting the UK Foreign Minister, gave a very qualified support to the use of Storm Shadow, appearing to indicate it was appropriate to use them in the Kursk region of Russia.
However, and for the record, the British have no more Storm Shadow weapons they can dispatch to Ukraine. The European stash is likely to have declined as well.  , Nevertheless the Germans have suddenly said , there will be no Taurus missiles , for Ukraine.  ,
Depending on what Russia decides, how this turns out today.
The Asia Times has a top editor named Stephen Bryen. He also served as the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s team director and its deputy secretary of defense for policy.  , This , post was first published on his , Weapons and Strategy , Substack, and is republished with authority.