Joe Biden allowing Ukraine to strike Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles risks widening the NATO-Russia conflict and effectively brings the US into direct involvement in it, Stop the War has warned.
US and NATO military personnel would have to be involved in the authorisation of hits using ATACMS missiles, dramatically escalating their proxy war.
It is also highly likely that the UK government will see the move as a green light for the use of its own Storm Shadow missiles by Ukraine, something that Keir Starmer had previously unsuccessfully sought Biden’s support for.
Responding to the outgoing US president’s act of escalation, StW convenor Lindsey German said:
“Biden wants to go out with a bang at the end of his failed presidency and the danger is he will take a lot of us with him. It’s clearly a policy shift to try to make it as difficult and costly as possible for the new Trump administration to try to end the war.
“That the actual missile hits have to be authorised by US personnel risks bringing America into direct conflict with Russia, an incredibly dangerous escalation of what is already a NATO proxy war.
“If Keir Starmer follows suit, he will also make the UK a direct target for any retaliatory actions.
“How can Biden or Starmer or anyone who supports missile attacks deep into Russia think it will change anything in Ukraine’s favour? This war is unwinnable and it is clear, when you look at countries like Germany, where there’s a huge political crisis, and around Europe, that most people want it to end because of the huge instability it’s creating.
“In the US, Trump’s pledge to end the war, whatever that means in practice, was clearly popular with the electorate.
“We all know this is heading for negotiations, some sort of peace talks. We’re not helping the Ukrainian people by keeping on funding a war which is going to lead to hugely more numbers of casualties than we’ve already seen. We desperately need a settlement and to bring about a lasting peace.”