Ukraine’s using ATACMS on Russian soil-Consequences or bargaining chip?
Washington D.C. provided Ukraine with permission to unleash ATACMS on Russian soil. The Russians have indicated that ATACMS use will result in consequences. Included among these consequences would be Russia’s understanding that this represents a Western escalation against Russia. This escalation would “get a response.” Rebecca Grant penned an opinion piece that suggests that Donald Trump may have gained a bargaining chip.
From Fox News:
The Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) has been used by Ukraine before, but this strike came after the Biden White House granted new permissions to hit on Russian soil.
President Biden has done President-elect Trump a favor with this U-turn decision on ATACMs. Striking Russian ammunition and troop concentrations feeding the battle against Ukraine applies pressure on Russia and makes a lot of sense. As secretary of state nominee Sen. Marco Rubio has said, Ukraine needs leverage. ATACMS helps.
“Those missiles clear a grid square, a square kilometer,” then-Maj. Gen. David Petraeus said of ATACMS in 2003, when he was commanding the 101st Airborne Division on the march up to Baghdad. The U.S. Army V Corps ended up firing 414 ATACMs during Operation Iraqi Freedom, often packaged with Apache helicopters.
Petraeus said the ATACMS were “incredibly lethal and absolutely devastating” against a range of Iraqi infantry and air defense targets.
Russia has been piling up supplies and launching drone and missile strikes from sanctuaries just over its border. North Korean troops are there, too. Meanwhile, all of Ukraine is subject to random attack, and Russia’s drones have dropped into Latvia and Romania several times this year.
In a conflict where neither side has air superiority, ATACMS is a pointed message about the devastation Ukraine can unleash.
Additional Reading:
Grant, R. (2024, November 21). Biden helps Trump by unleashing ATACMS on Russia. Fox News. Link.
Category: Donald Trump, Joe BIden, Russia, Ukraine
Hilarious to see Dems supporting ATACMS use as several of them have called the M39 round illegal and their use a war crime.
They do do what they do very well.
I am convinced Biden’s handlers want us to get balls deep in the war so that we will have to stay involved and keep the meat grinder going. Between the added weapons and the contractor deployments it seems to fit.
There is plot hole in their logic armor.
Not a warcrime when they do it.
I doubt Kalamity ever pushed a mower. The only thing she ever did on a lawn was get grass stains on her knees.
I think Putin is getting close to his minions being very upset with the war. He needs it to end to retain his power, and needs a part of Ukraine to show his prize that cost 700k+ casualties. An escalation could encourage him to do stupid things too. No winners.
Also read the Russians reassigned and deployed all 1,500 sailors of their only (and malfunction prone) aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetzov to the front lines in Ukraine.
How do they intend to get the ship there?
Hah!
Thing needs escort tugs to follow it wherever it goes on deployment (breaks down constantly, burns mazut for fuel and has a maximum deployment time of 45 days..) on top of a host of other issues… so I doubt it will ever see use again. It has been in drydock/shipyard since 2019.
A floating joke.
Is that the one that looks like it’s spewing burning old tire smoke out of it stack?
Yep, as well as always being shadowed by Tugboats for WHEN it breaks down, getting assigned duty aboard that rustbucket mega-klunker is considered punishment!
I really have a hard time sussing what NAT0 is thinking attacking RF.
The last time we directly involved ourselves with their internal affairs didn’t end well (thanks Woodrow Wilson! /yuge s).
One big plus for both sides, everyone’s d!ck is out on the table and the measuring is about to begin.
Got (gamma) shielding?
Damn fools better wake up and de-esculate this madness ‘lest some other fools releases some canned sunshine and bring about TEOTWAWKI.
Let’s see…Fire Base Magnolia is roughly 20 miles as the crow flies from RAFB. Will I see a flash before I’m vaporized or notice that my cell phone goes tits up when the power goes off, indicating an EMP strike? What about my daughter and Grand Children outside of Tampa? You think that McDill is still a primary target?
Prepare
I live within 5 miles of the largest Navy base in the world. If it kicks off with no warning, I’ll be mixed in with that vapor cloud rising above the Hampton Roads area.
Not saying I expect it, but if that happens, consider this my final farewell…it’s been real. To be frank, I can think of worse ways to go. At least it’ll be quick.
I’ll be shambling through the ruins looking for a can of dog food to eat. Unless….
I get movie lucky and the radiation causes spontaneous mutations and I become near immortal with giant tree limb sized arms ideal for crushing and I develop a ballistic Level IV natural scaly lizard armor. Now if that happens I will rule the PAW wastelands with an Iron Fist! All will bow to me and bring me tribute or I will have their heads. Men will fear me, women will adore me, all will love my reign or else! Every week we will have a sing off to see who is the mutant king, which I will always win because I am the best!
KoB you can be the guy in the hubcap armor who laughs manically.
Hail Humongous, lord of the wasteland. Now where did I park that f-n tanker?
I think President Putin realizes that this authorization to use US missiles is the last gasp of a dying regime. He’s being tolerably patient until the New Sheriff takes command, then the adults can talk and settle things fairly peaceably. BooBoo Biden and Kalamity Kamala will be gone, and Shorty Zelensky will be treated like the child that he is.
Yes, indeed, we do live in interesting times. And I do feel cursed for it. (where’s that damned Chinaman that came up with that expression?)
And now Putin says he’s chucked a hypersonic ballistic missle at the Ukes..
Who was it that was gonna start WWIII again Commissar???
Hmmmm…..why did Biden authorize their use NOW and not almost 3 years ago when they could have made a difference?
It’s so obvious that Pedo Pete is pissing in the pool before The Don enters.
A lot can happen before the 2nd week of January.
ChiComs going after Taiwan could be a possibly.
I really hope to be wrong.
Russians give long range ballistic missiles to the Houthis and they attack a NATO base, in Europe, killing dozens, using Russian intelligence and satellites for guidance.
All is OK…correct?
Fair is fair—we give missiles to the Ukrainians, Russia gives missiles to the Houthis. We help Ukraine kill Russians, Russians help Houthis, et al. kill us. Anybody remember Semtex? Who used it, who invented and manufactured it?
Czechoslovakia. Jane Fonda’s #1 fans got alot. But Gaddafi got the most by a long shot. 7-800 tonnes?
He gave the PIRA a shitload, alongside other heavy and small arms.The batches NVN and the PIRA received was long before the manufacturer added a detection aid.
The IRA needed a new sugar daddy after the assassination of Lord Mountbatten effectively put an end to NORAID.The later Brighton Hotel and Lockerbie bombings definitely didn’t help either.
Yep. A Soviet satellite. Not to mention Baader-Meinhof and other Soviet (Russian) backed terrorists. I am sure the Russians remember, also. We have enough trouble with Iran-backed terrorists without adding Russia-backed terrorists to the mix.
The bigger question is whether or not “The Big Guy” received his 10%?
Apart from that, it is most certain Biden is setting the conditions for Trump to inherit a crisis.
“Never underestimate Joe Biden’s ability to fuck things up.” – B. Hussein 0bama
My bet is that he and/or his handlers have him fucking everything he/they can up so they can later direct their sniveling minions in the mainstream media to pump out the propaganda that DJT fucked everything up!
Things that boom and have a self-destruct time are permitted.
Maybe someone should listen to Putin this time. He doesn’t seem to be one of those Western political hacks who puff themselves up and say something is “unacceptable”, then go back to grifting. As Ukraine et al. have found out, when Putin says something is unacceptable to him, we should believe him.
Unless the letter agencies have way more information that we don’t have, or back channels that allow this shitshow to continue, your above message rings very true.
Wonder where all the honest brokers done go’ed? (below)
“Unless the letter agencies have way more information that we don’t have,…”
As some folks say, “It’s not what you have, it’s how you use it”. The letter agencies always have more information than we have, and yet historical examples of agency clusterfucks abound.