Joe Biden did Donald Trump a favor with American missiles in Ukraine, says Bloomberg

Donald Trump Jr. argued on Sunday (17.11/24) that United States aid to Ukraine with Americans is an attempt by his government to start the “Third World War” before his father, elected president Donald Trump, took office in January. U.S. President Joe Biden authorized the Ukrainian army to use long-range missiles supplied by America to hit targets within Russia on Monday, which diverges from its previous approaches aimed at deescalating the war. Ukraine launched six American long-range missiles in the Briansk region of Russia, Moscow said last Tuesday. This is the first use of these weapons by Kiev within Russia in 1,000 days of war. On Wednesday following the “green” light given by the US to Kiev for the use of long-range ATACMS missiles, Ukraine launched on Wednesday (20.11.2024) for the first time British cruise Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia. Other Donald Trump supporters have the same opinion: “No one expected Joe Biden to clinch the war in Ukraine during the transition period. It’s like starting a whole new war.” Their indifference, whether real or fake, concerns the “green light” given by Biden to Ukrainians to launch rockets of American construction much deeper in Russia than has been allowed until now, in the context of their self-defense against the de facto extermination war conducted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Bloomberg reports in his analysis. In particular, Joe Biden allowed Ukrainians to use the Military Missile Systems or ATACMS, which have a range of up to 190 miles. This week the Ukrainians carried out their first attack on Russia itself (not just in the areas occupied by Russia), hitting a munitions depot. The French and the British, who have supplied Ukrainians with their own versions of long-range weapons, can now follow Biden’s example and lift Kiev’s restrictions (p. It is noted that on Wednesday, after ATACMS, Ukraine also launched British Storm Shadow missiles in Russia). Because Biden now said “yes” Joe Biden’s “yes” took too long, but approval alone will not have a decisive military impact. (The granting to Ukraine of other weapons in small supplies, from western tanks to F-16, also did not change the war in favour of Ukraine). Is it, however, a “escalation” or an attempt to prevent Donald Trump’s plans to settle a war that, unrealisticly, promised to end in one day? Apparently the cause of Biden’s turn is that Russian President Vladimir Putin first escalated the war, inviting his new allies from North Korea to join Russia in the war. Russians and North Koreans are preparing for a counterattack aimed at recapture of the Russian Kursk region. The Russians have also intensified their bombings against Ukraine’s infrastructure with the aim of making Winter for Ukrainians more unbearable, cold and deadly. It is a difficult question whether Joe Biden could have previously brought Ukrainians to a better strategic position, if he would have let them attack faster with ATACMS or if he could have provided all American aid faster and decisively. The reason for his reluctance, however, was always clear: Joe Biden’s highest goal was to avoid crossing Vladimir Putin’s “red lines” and to provoke a direct confrontation between American and Russian forces, or even a Russian attack on Ukraine or the West with regular nuclear weapons. Nuclear threats For 1,000 days (i.e. since the beginning of the Russian invasion), Washington and other NATO member countries have been wondering whether Putin’s nuclear threats are reliable. In any case, it is a fact that Putin in recent years has modified Russia’s nuclear doctrine, making it more aggressive and more adapted to the current war and current situation. In September he stated that Moscow could respond with nukes to “an attack on Russia by any non-nuclear state”, if the attacker has “the involvement or support of a nuclear state”. This rhetoric clearly refers to Ukraine and its nuclear-equipped allies in the US, the United Kingdom and France. This week, Putin also signed the relevant updated new nuclear doctrine. Negotiating papers What Biden understands, however, is that timing matters. Right now, Putin is trying to be as aggressive and powerful in Ukraine as possible to prepare for the new and unpredictable age of geopolitical that will begin on the day of inauguration in the US on January 20. The more lands and other pressure levers Putin has in his hands, the better his negotiating position will be not so much against Kiev as against Trump. At the same time, Putin would never choose the next two months to take nuclear action. This would lose China’s support, which it has so carefully built – and also the support of the World South, from India to Africa, and most of the world. It would also destroy the relationship with Trump that both powerful men consider so essential. Trump’s entire rhetoric about national security is based on the phrase “peace through power”. He should therefore even respond to a limited Russian nuclear bomb with showy military power. Putin doesn’t want to raise the tones that high. If he returns ATACMS before Trump’s day of inauguration, he will likely do so with more hybrid warfare operations. (This week, someone cut two underwater cables connecting NATO countries to the Baltic). What Trump Jr. and other members of the transition team do not seem to realize is that Biden, with the decision on ATACMS, did his successor a strategic favor. He responded to Putin’s escalation in a measured manner and made Ukrainians somewhat stronger against the forthcoming Russian attack. This step saves Trump from having to escalate later and instead gives him “papers” to negotiate again from the new year, Bloomberg reports. An alternative theory regarding ATACMS license is that it is part of Biden’s attempt to “armour” U.S. policy towards Trump. For example, the government is accelerating the remaining $6 billion aid to Ukraine approved by Congress, so Trump will not interrupt it. But Biden knows you can’t shield anything against an upcoming president known for his unpredictable nature.