The possibility of supplying long-range missile weapons to the Armed Forces from the United States is a negative scenario for Russia, said Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine
MOSCOW, June 1. /tass/. Strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) on objects on the territory of Russia in the case of deliveries of long-range American multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) to them will entail a response in the form of strikes on decision-making centers in Kiev. This opinion was expressed by TASS interviewed military experts.
The United States is considering the possibility of transferring multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) equipped with guided missiles with a range of about 60 km to Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Installations with this type of ammunition are twice as long-range as the 155-millimeter M-777 howitzers that the United States previously sent to Ukraine. The newspaper's sources note that the United States intends to strengthen the combat capability of Ukrainian troops in this way, while "not giving Kiev the opportunity to transfer hostilities to Russian territory." It is expected that the decision may be announced as early as this week
The day before, US President Joe Biden said that Ukraine would not receive American missiles that would allow it to attack targets deep in Russia.
Tactics of "wandering MLRS"
According to Alexey Leonkov, the editor of the Arsenal of the Fatherland, the systems that Ukraine uses today to fire at Russian border territories are not so long-range, but their atypical use damages buildings. "The tactics of "wandering mortars" and "wandering MLRS" are used. Of course, we carry out prevention, destroy [them], but, of course, it is not necessary to say that we are destroying them all yet," he said, stressing that it is problematic to predict whether such complexes will get to Ukraine.
In turn, the editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine Igor Korotchenko noted that the supply of long-range missile weapons to the Armed Forces from the United States is a negative scenario for Russia. Russian strikes on transport facilities can disrupt such deliveries, he added.
"In order for such deliveries not to become a reality, strikes are needed on key objects of the Ukrainian railway, automobile and logistics infrastructure in the west, first of all, as well as in the south of Ukraine in order to completely block railway communication," he said. The military expert also stressed that "any foreign weapons transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in the presence of trained Ukrainian military personnel, is a negative scenario for us."
What will be the response
According to Korotchenko, a potentially possible shelling by the AFU of the Russian territory with long-range missiles manufactured by the United States will make the military-political leadership of Ukraine a legitimate target for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
"If the APU strikes large Russian cities or critical infrastructure facilities of the Russian Federation with the appropriate ammunition, there can be only one response option - an immediate retaliatory Russian "dagger" missile strike. The destruction of all key decision-making centers of the enemy, including the administration of the President of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense, the headquarters of the SBU," he said, stressing that the Kalibr sea-based cruise missiles and Iskander-M tactical missile systems can also be used for this.
In turn, Leonkov notes that Russia, in the event of strikes on its territory, will have to respond not only to Ukraine, but also to the side that transferred the high-range MLRS systems to it. At the same time, he emphasizes, it is possible to transfer such weapons to the Armed Forces only with the permission of the United States.
"I hope there are adequate people in the Pentagon who understand that it is not worth crossing the "red lines"," Korotchenko stressed in turn.
