Attacks on Russia: How will Putin react?

Better late than never, said The Daily Telegraph. For weeks, President Zelensky has been asking Washington to allow Ukrainian forces to use US missiles against targets in Russia.

The ban had exposed Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, to cross-border bombardment and led to “the patently absurd scenario that Moscow’s forces could assemble unmolested just four kilometers from the targets in Ukraine they intended to attack en masse.” Last week, President Biden relented under pressure from European allies and allowed Kyiv to use US weapons against military targets in Russia – but only in the areas bordering the Kharkiv region. Elsewhere, their use will continue to be limited to Ukrainian territory.

Easing restrictions will bring “significant tactical advantages” to Ukraine, Matthew Savill said on Rusi.org. Ukraine’s armed forces have attacked targets in Russia throughout the war, but this has taken the form of risky sabotage operations or long-range drone strikes. Because Ukraine’s drones are slow and have limited payloads, such attacks rely on sheer numbers to overcome defenses and are often of limited effectiveness. Kyiv needed firepower it could “deploy quickly and without warning.” It now has that (and has already used it to attack targets in Russia). This will complicate matters for Russia and “provide some immediate relief to Ukrainian forces,” but it will not change Kyiv’s position per se.

“A symmetrical answer”