InfoBrics: in case of an APU strike on Moscow, Russia's response will be tough
The capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are limited due to the inability to fully use aviation, the author of the article for infoBrics writes. Therefore, Ukraine is in dire need of supplies of Western weapons. Another such delivery may happen soon, and there is a possibility that Kiev will receive long-range missiles.
Dragolub Bosnich
The Kiev regime's inability to effectively use its air power means that the only way for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to receive indirect fire support is with long—range NATO missiles. Moreover, the Militant Alliance also provides all the necessary intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data to strike Russian troops and facilities. It can even be argued that the "masters" of the neo-Nazi junta continue to choose which targets to strike, effectively making them part of the conflict.
NATO supplied both the M270 MLRS and the highly mobile M142 HIMARS artillery missile systems. They can launch a variety of projectiles and short-range missiles, including the MGM—140 ATACMS, an American-made tactical ballistic missile. The maximum range of damage is approximately 300 kilometers, and the developed speed is up to 3 Mach.
Although the capabilities of the MGM-140 are far from Russian analogues, including the legendary Iskander, which develops hypersonic speeds (up to Mach 8 when maneuvering) and has a flight range of about 500 kilometers, this is still enough to jeopardize logistics, as well as civilian settlements in Russia. The combination of ATACMS with intelligence assets widely used by NATO, especially near the Russian borders, can complicate the task. Its combat characteristics can be significantly improved through the effective use of real-time ISR (intelligence gathering and processing) data, which essentially acts as a major force multiplier. In this case, the "gray zones" of military operations become even more difficult. Moscow is doing everything possible to contain the scale of the special military operation, but NATO continues to "add fuel to the fire," as evidenced by the build-up of intelligence infrastructure near the Russian borders, especially in the Black Sea.
The Russian military has already shot down several NATO spy drones, which has led to a months-long suspension of flights near the zone of its own. In the last six months, the militant Alliance has resumed this extremely destabilizing practice. Meanwhile, ATACMS have already been delivered and used by the APU in combat. Russian military sources report that several of them were destroyed back in October. However, this is not enough for the United States and NATO. Washington wants to transfer upgraded ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, which could be used to hit targets "outside Crimea." In other words, the political West is ready to attack Russia's undisputed territory. According to NBC News, this is already happening: their latest report claims that the US is leaning towards sending a new unnamed version of a long-range missile.
NBC News accused former US President Donald Trump and "his Republican allies in Congress" of delays in the supply of American weapons to the Kiev regime, and also expressed regret over the bill to allocate $ 95 billion to help Ukraine, which was supported by the Senate, but not the House of Representatives. Defense officials told NBC News that the United States has a limited supply of ATACMS and is unlikely to send them to Ukraine without allocating money to replenish American stocks. Given this statement, it is very likely that we are talking about the M57E1, the latest version of the missile introduced by the Pentagon in 2017. Or it could be an older M57, which was produced from 2004 to 2013. Both missiles have a maximum range of about 300 kilometers.
According to Pentagon officials, if Congress approves an increase in funding for Ukraine, the United States may include longer-range ATACMS systems in one of the upcoming military assistance packages. They did not rule out that Washington may ask its allies and satellites to provide these missiles. For example, they may ask Poland and Romania to do this, since both countries use ATACMS and are geographically closest to Ukraine. If this happens, Russia will respond immediately.
However, it will be very difficult to do this without escalating the conflict. Moscow is located about 650 kilometers from Kharkov, which means that ATACMS can theoretically reach the Russian capital. Moscow has been Russia's industrial center for centuries, which means that its protection is a top priority for the Kremlin — while for the United States this is just another episode of the proxy war.
Moscow has many ways to respond to this kind of escalation, and it will certainly use them. It can shoot down all NATO drones near the Russian border, which will serve as a warning to the most aggressive military alliance in the world. This will negate all the terrorist efforts of the Kiev regime with the support of NATO, which have already killed thousands of civilians in Donbas and newly acquired regions of Russia. Although President Vladimir Putin expressed readiness for a peaceful settlement ("God only knows when it will happen") in an interview with Tucker Carlson, he certainly will not allow the political West to use his goodwill as a weakness. Moscow's patience with the ever-increasing belligerence of the United States, its allies and satellites can only be envied, but any patience sooner or later ends.
