With Russians gaining an upper hand on the battlefield and
Ukraine forced to retreat from many frontiers,
some Western nations are urging a potentially dangerous course of
action.
They want Ukraine to be allowed to use long range
missiles to directly hit inside Russian territory.
Moscow is warning that it will hit back hard if
that happens.
Is the war changing gears?
Our next report tells you more.
In the face of the relentless Russian onslaught,
the outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian troops are retreating,
giving up more villages. At least seven people have been
killed in the latest attack on the eastern Ukraine city
of Kharki.
Ukrainian President Zelensky again asserts that Russia is leveraging his
country's lack of air defense systems to launch brutal strikes
on frontline towns and cities.
Beyond the battlefield, pressure is growing on U.S.
President Joe Biden to allow Ukraine to fire American missiles
into Russian territory.
the US House Speaker has told Voice of America that
Ukraine needs to be able to fight back.
He said the US micromanaging the Ukraine effort is not
a good policy for Kiev.
Ukraine has appealed to the Biden administration to lift the
ban.
Kiev is not alone in this demand.
Lithuania, which is a NATO ally and shares a border
with Russia,
wants Ukraine to strike Russian territory,
disrupt supply lines and neutralize enemy forces.
Findon had said earlier that Ukraine can use weapons provided
by Helsinki to hit targets on Russian soil.
Remember, till now western weapons have come with a condition.
They should be used by Ukraine to hit Russian targets
on its territory in defence.
But the present change in tone could have wide-ranging ramifications.
Earlier this month, UK virtually green lit Kiev to use
its weapons as they deem fit.
The big question is, if Ukraine is allowed to hit
Russian targets,
how will Moscow react? Kremlin warns it will strike British
targets if British weapons are used by Ukraine on Russian
territory.
The signs are ominous. A small miscalculation can spark a
wider conflict beyond the Ukraine borders.
Do the report Beyond World is one.
For more on this, we are being joined by Jonah
Blank,
who is the former foreign policy adviser to President Joe
Biden.
He's joining us live from Washington,
DC Joda, welcome back to WE on US.
House Speaker Mike Johnson says that Ukraine should be able
to fight the war as they see fit.
What are your thoughts on that and what could happen
in your view?
Well, thank you for having me on.
I think that there is enough international support for the
idea of allowing Ukraine to use NATO,
NATO weapons for attacks on Russian soil that this is
not really going to be likely to escalate the war.
The UK, Lithuania and Finland have already agreed to this
type of
dispensation, and all three of them are under much more
direct threat from Vladimir Putin than the US is.
And that's very interesting. And how is it that we
see a change of course now because the United States
noted the Biden administration,
seem to have always taken the less least confrontational approach
when it came
to dealing with Ukraine, its policies on Ukraine and whatnot.
What is the change?
Well, President Biden has been quite careful not to escalate
the war,
and rightly so. I mean,
this is a dangerous situation.
And let's be clear that if the decision is taken
to allow Ukraine to use US source weapons for attacks
on Russian soil,
that would be a danger.
But let's also look at the other side of the
equation.
Vladimir Putin, at least in my judgement,
is unlikely to take a reckless action in the next
half year
precisely because of the pending American election.
Right now, Vladimir Putin has a 50%
chance of seeing AUS administration a year from now.
That will give him everything he wants.
If Mr. Trump is elected,
he's made pretty clear that he will withdraw US support
for Ukraine and might even withdraw the US from NATO.
If Vladimir Putin were to take reckless action before the
election,
that would likely hurt the cause of him getting Mr.
Trump elected, which very much is in Putin's interest.
All right, thank you so much for that.
Mister Jonah Blake. I look forward to speaking to you
again very soon as we follow this story.
Thank you for all the latest news.
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