US intelligence is drawing attention to the risks associated with the possibility of deep strikes on Russian territory with Western weapons, reports the New York Times, quoted by News.bg.
Intelligence agencies have concluded that granting Ukraine's request to use Western missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia could provoke dangerous retaliation, but without significantly changing the course of the war, the article says.
US intelligence officials believe that Russia is likely to respond with more powerful measures against the United States and its allies if Washington allows the use of long-range missiles supplied by the United States, the United Kingdom and France to strike Russia, the sources said.
According to the New York Times, intelligence agencies believe that the impact of such missiles on the course of the war is not significant, since their number is limited and it is not clear how many of them can be provided by Western allies.
The intelligence assessment cited by the publication emphasizes that analysts see potential risks and uncertain benefits of such a decision, which ultimately depends on President Joe Biden, who met with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Thursday.
The New York Times notes that these assessments may partly explain why Biden is having difficulty making a final decision. However, the sources of the publication do not know what the president’s decision will be.
In recent months, Biden has refused to grant Ukraine’s ongoing demand to remove restrictions on long-range missiles provided by the United States and the United Kingdom. This would allow Ukrainian forces to strike military targets deep inside Russia. Biden has resisted these demands, despite calls from the British prime minister, because US administration officials believe that such weapons would not change the strategic balance and could push Vladimir Putin to escalate the war.
The US position is facing stiff resistance from a number of European leaders who believe that after two and a half years of war, Ukraine has earned the right to confront Russian forces without restrictions. On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week, some world leaders expressed visible disappointment at the lack of support for such action.