Ukraine fired at least 10 British-provided Storm Shadow missiles into Russia’s Kursk Oblast, The Wall Street Journal and several other media outlets reported on Wednesday.
Ukraine has used the Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of up to 155 miles, in strikes on Crimea, but Wednesday’s attack, which targeted the Kursk Oblast, marks the first time Ukrainian forces fired them into the Russian mainland, another major escalation of the proxy war. So far, Russia hasn’t confirmed the use of Storm Shadows.
The US and the UK reportedly authorized Ukraine’s use of the Storm Shadows in strikes on Russian territory after President Biden gave the green light for Ukraine to use the ATACMS, US-made missiles with a range of about 190 miles. Ukraine launched ATACMS into Russia for the first time on Tuesday.
Both the Storm Shadows and ATACMS require intelligence from Western countries for Ukraine to fire them, meaning the US and NATO are now directly supporting long-range strikes on Russian territory. Earlier this year, a German military leak revealed British soldiers are “on the ground” in Ukraine helping Ukrainian forces fire Storm Shadows.
Moscow has made clear that NATO-supported long-range strikes inside Russia risk nuclear war. On Tuesday, in response to Biden authorizing the ATACMS strikes, Russian President Vladimir Putin formally updated Russia’s nuclear doctrine, which now considers an attack by a non-nuclear armed state that’s supported by a nuclear-armed power as a joint attack.
The US said on Wednesday that it was closing down its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, citing “specific information of a potential significant air attack,” signaling Washington is expecting Russia to escalate in response to the long-range strikes. Several other countries, including Italy and Greece, followed the US lead and shuttered their embassies.
While the long-range strikes risk nuclear escalation, US officials have admitted the capability is not expected to alter the course of the war. Ukraine only has a limited supply of the ATACMS and Storm Shadows.
ESCALATION?!
Storming Starmer, Genocide Joe, and the rest of the warmongering NATO posse are asking, "What does it take to jump start a world war?" If they keep on doing what they are doing, they just might find out. And should their wet dream psycho wishes come true, they be needing to be pulling their governments out of Washington, and London too.
Touché ole!
Yeah, you remember when NATO and the West used to try to PREVENT WW3 from starting ? Oh, 1980s, where'd you go…
Did they? Barely so at best. The only nuclear power with a "first use" policy was then the USA. This was pretexted on fears of a USSR invasion that of course was never even planned.
Really seemed like NATO / US once passed every potential action of theirs through a strict “What will the Soviets do / think about this ?” filter. And even if they did push ahead with Able Archer exercises (one almost turning out hideously wrong) or Central American anti-leftist coups, there was at least a calculated risk in place.
Bring back the band Alphaville. The song “Forever Young” is more relevant now than the 80’s.
How ironic is it that Britain is so determined to get Russia out of Ukraine while they continue to maintain sovereignty over a chunk of their smaller neighbor Ireland? It is well known that the majority of the Irish people support the re-unification of their island but the British government has long opposed Irish unity.
The world has many unsettled frictions going back thousands of years!
Thank you
That's because they started the Industrial Revolution, became the global hegemon/world's leading commercial nation, followed by the US that became the global hegemon after WWII.
Quite simply, despite international law, UN charters/resolutions, etc., they simply don't give a f*ck as things only apply to hegemonies when convenient. Just like climate change, etc. Notice how the UK never adopted the Euro currency? Made their exit that much simpler, didn't it.
Which brings another point with the move to 'dedollarization' w.r.t. trade which is mainly hindered by currency convertability. That will gradually change and is a real concern to the USUK Empire, probably moreso than Ukraine, etc.
All it's ever been was money and geopolitical control. Just another version of colonization/exploitation, but in modern form.
"Well, THAT escalated quickly."
It started with Putin's invasion and annexation, in case you forgot.
Putin was looking for neo nazis, turns out, he has a bigger Neo nazi problem in Russia and you need to stop the Ukraine Neo nazi propaganda here. It's not working.
That is utter BS. The Nazi problem in Russia was crushed years ago. The Azov Neo Nazi battalions are a huge part of the Ukrainian military. You talk rubbish.
Crushed by winter 1944 at the very latest.
No it didnt start with a Russia invasion, it stated with a US backed coup in 2014, and plans to get Ukraine into Nato.
It started long before that.
No, it started in 1990, and continued with NATO expansion to present time. 2014 was a pivotal date with the Empire's regime change, then the bogus Minsk Protocols (remember what Angela Merkel had to say about those).
Get your facts straight. It will also help for you to learn and understand the concept of 'Ukraine'.
Ukraine (pre-1990 and post-2022 borders) is a modern concept that really did not have any defined territory other than Cossacks, Ruthenians, etc. that lived within the respective Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Habsburg and Russian Empires.
Ukrajina (exactly like Krajina in former Yugoslavia) literally means the frontier/border region, etc.
Ukrajina will still exist, but as a very much smaller 'rump state' to the west adjacent to Poland.
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock………
Almond, the nuttiest truth-denier to crawl out from under Disqus's lack of a policy that Commenters like you have to READ and UNDERSTAND articles on antiwar.com before you start spouting nonsense that contradicts all the facts and evidence laid bare in this site's content.
Seriously, you go to halal threads on Reddit and whine about a lack of good pork chop recipes ?
Read the room, you clown.
No, Julianne, the war started in February of 2014 when the U.S. overthrew the democratically elected leader of Ukraine with the Maidan coup.
Idiots like her don't care about these facts.
The US said on Wednesday that it was closing down its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, citing “specific information of a potential significant air attack,” signaling Washington is expecting Russia to escalate in response to the long-range strikes.
The war in a nutshell. Your welcome Ukraine.
No, you're welcome, Russia.
Don't get that confused. It is the entire Russian army inside Ukraine killing Ukrainians and annexing their land and NOT the other way around.
The Russian propaganda machine is desperate.
The war in a nutshell.
This is nonsense.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f35f5b5169e5dcf94b79b9c04d87f0e16a0780b9db267eb965cfcd1f3c9c78c8.jpg
Russia isn't using Ukraine as fodder. The US is. Close the embassy and get your ass out of town while the Ukrainians take the beating. Similar to the "counteroffensive". The US urged them to go ahead with it while admitting they wouldn't have done it themselves without air support. Open your god damned eyes.
Yes, the famous 2023 Summer 'Counteroffensive'…..
Then the 'Victory Plan'…..
Now reported that Zelensky has conceded that Crimea is longer realistic…..
More sobering is that the eastern front is gaining momentum, energy infrastructure is being fuc*ing pounded and as seen historically, this is the time when territorial gains will shift from linear to exponential.
Just remember how things progressed in WWII after Stalingrad and then Kursk with the U.S.S.R. steam rolling towards Berlin. So much so, that the USUK Empire had to employ D-Day to make their way to Berlin to make sure they could get a piece of the pie before Stalin gobbled it all up.
Russians remember how much they sacrificed in WWII, moreso than any other nation in the history of warfare.
It's no longer 1990 & Gorbachev, former Yugoslavia, Serbia/Kosovo and they better get used to it. They just can't pull that $hit anymore.
Not only in Europe, but on a global scale as well.
Somewhere along the way, someone better really understand that the USUK Empire's 'Ukrainian Experiment' has miserably failed. The US Dept. of State can fabricate an exit summary statement that will 'justify' their actions, blah, blah, blah…..
"The Times They Are-A-Changin"
"It is the entire Russian army inside Ukraine…"
This claim is immediately and demonstrably false.
Admit you are using hyperbole (look up that word; we'll wait) or you are proven a liar. And not for the first time, Almond.
Russia just needs to get out of Ukraine and bring its soldiers home as a peace goodwill gesture. Putin won't do it so Ukraine has to make him do it.
If you seriously think this doesn't have anything to do with broken promises on NATO encirclement of Russia, the illegal ousting of a democratically elected leader in street revolution in 2014 to replace with pro Western leader, unfair elections, the support of Azov Neo Nazi units in the Ukraine military killing Russian minorities in the Donbass
And this invasion was unprovoked.
You've been brainwashed by the MSM.
Define "Ukraine".
From their viewpoint (and mine as well for whatever it matters, although with nuances) Russia is conducting de-nazification, while NATO has been conducting nazification (and related genocidal crimes) since 2014.
The big problem the US Empire has is that almost invariably aligns or directly promotes the worst criminals, from the Ukrainian nazis to the Zionists in Palestine, from Al Qaeda to Franco and Pinochet. I can think of a few exceptions (Kosovo and Rojava primarily) but it's clearly not enough to gain the legitimacy needed to win.
This owes to the (now less) celebrated colonial, genocidal and racist history of the USA (and its key vassals like Britain), a trajectory that still pervades the deep state and all of NATO. Much reckoning is needed.
What do you think will happen in the next 2 months?
World War 3
IDK. Some former gral. (Michael Fling) is demanding Harris to remove Biden using the 25th Ammendment before it's too late, and also to reveal who are inciting the old man to act so recklessly.
But, on the other hand, it's pretty much quid-pro-quo: Russia has been bombing deep into Ukraine since long ago (always strategical targets, not civilians) and keeping the pretense that this is a "contained war" makes no sense whatsoever: wars cannot be contained to any arbitrary geography. Also Russia has cowed more than once after warning Israel not to attack Syria repeatedly, so their red lines are blurry (what is an extra risk, because where does the bluff end and the true danger begins?)
So most likely Russia will limit themselves to complain and bomb Ukrainian strategical targets more intensely in the hope of destroying all those missiles before they hit something serious.
1. Russia is establishing an indidputable legal basis in the event of a war with NATO that NATO is the aggressor, … obviating any specious narrow construction as charged it with an "unprovoked & illegal invasion of Ukraine."
2. Russia is already well extended sociologically, financially, and militarily. It no doubt is at present intensely engaged in lining up and readying its allies for the approaching showdown. For all which it needs predious time.
1. I don't think that Ukraine will escalate to direct Russia-NATO war. They may be pushing the limits but that would be too dangerous, especially for Russia if contained at conventional level: the USA is far away, Russia is having lots of trouble advancing on Ukraine, so flat chance of conquering Europe or even a significant portion of it, really. Of course if nuclear armaggedon would be unleashed, then it'd be total instant destruction for Russia, the USA, Europe, Canada, etc. As long as NATO doesn't DIRECTLY attack Russian forces or localities, Moscow will not attack NATO directly either, that's my conviction. This holds particularly true for this government transition period in the USA.
2. Legal bases means almost nothing in terms of international politics: "international law" is violated every single day, sadly enough. Much more important is to hold the moral high ground, which is not necessarily achieved by mere strict adherence to (very much interpretable) "international law", but by respecting civilians and actually defending human rights. Russia and Iran have generally taken that high moral ground and that's IMO half way to victory (reinforces own camp's loyalties, attracts neutrals and defectors/traitors from the enemy), however they lack a champion paradigm as could be "democracy" or "socialism" and rely way too heavily in conservative ideology, which is intrinsically weak. Thus their capture of the high moral ground relies mostly on the loss of any legitimacy by a Western camp turned genocidal supervillain by (suicidal and hypocrite) choice.
3. Russia is smallish in terms demographic (one of many countries around the 100K inhabitants) and is not an industrial great power either (they mostly export fossil fuels and weaponry), much less a financial one. Russia has a massive military (incl. nuclear weapons) for its measure in any terms except geographical extension but it's clear that, for example, their intelligence services lack big deal and are usually outcompeted by the CIA (and extensions), although maybe they're smarting up, as shown in the Sahel coups sequence.
In short: I wouldn't overestimate Russia. They are strongish for their size and rather legitimate for an "aggressor" but they can't win everything and they face a declining but still massive imperial superpower.
I wonder how the effective population of Russia compares to that of the US .
I was wondering too: Russia has less than 150 million people, the USA more than 350 (and that’s not counting NATO, Japan, etc.) The USA is the third largest country on Earth by population but NATO as a whole compares well to China or India, with almost a billion inhabitants (and we should add Japan and Australia at least to account for the actual US Empire). Russia is a dwarf by comparison.
Prior to the Ukraine War and the Nord Stream sabotage, Russia compared well to Germany in everything but landmass. Russia is a (heavily armed) regional power, not any superpower.
I agree with your numbers yet my adjective is effective population.
Many in US hsve been reduced to burger flippers or stressed by huge college debts.
What do you mean by “effective population”. In demographics and population genetics that phrase exists but it’s an “on hindsight” concept about how many effective reproductive individuals a society had. It’s annotated Ne (capìtal en sub cursive e). But I don’t think you’re talking about that but maybe realistic military age manpower? I don’t know the figure but those do exist online. The key word would be “manpower” (although it may also include women).
Yes, the obesity epidemics, fueled by the likes of Kellogs and their obsession with having us eat huge amounts of “cattle feed” (carbs) is radically damaging the USA and the world (I also suffered from obesity and metabolic syndrome but I healed with lob carb diet, now I’m good for my age, except residual diabetes caused by my persistent sweet tooth). It’s not the only problem the Empire has: excessive housing prizes and living costs in general makes the USA uncompetitive in the economy but bursting the housing bubble won’t be done because the Twin Party is slave of the oligarchs, who want their properties (our homes often) to grow in price endlessly, else what could they do with their endlessly growing greedy profits?
That’s how empires fall: Rome was also captive of their oligarchs’ greedy “needs” such as luxury imports from Asia and thus depleted its silver reserves, leading to the 3rd century crisis and the 5th century collapse eventually. They reformed little and, what they reformed, was for the worse anyhow: it was austericide and servitude for the masses and then inviting the barbarians, as the Romans could barely fight anymore themselves, to keep control of the uprising peasantry and their bagaudae, which only succeeded in Vasconia-Cantabria (and that’s why the Basque language is still alive and why my great-grandfather had a farmhouse instead of being a mere serf).
I mean effective as in inventing and imagining. Making babies is also good, up to a point.
I cannot answer your question then: seems a complicated research to be done, although maybe someone has tried already.
1. Of course not "Ulraine", it, escalation, is the consistent pattern of the Washington Neocon Nazis; and every reason to think it will continue. Not a stretch to guess Zelensky's next request, tactical warheads. And, of course, if allowed Washington will be happy to let Ukraine absorb all the consequences of its aggression, and will only feel it when Russia hits it directly, … as in Ramstein, Israel, Cyprus, ….
2. We profoundly disagree on the importance of International Law.
3. That was essentially my point as well. Only that I emphasized its current engaged status and especially need to shore up allies and plans. And I don't share your confidence that Washington will not force Russia's hand.
Well, if Russia’s hand is forced, then we, as the posters of my youth said back in the 80s: “then kiss your children goodbye”.
Russia just shot several ICBMs against Ukrainian targets in Dnipro (former Dniepropetrovsk), no nuclear payload of course but first time ever an intercontinental ballistic missile is shot against another country in a context of war. Pointlessly so, as, per the name, ICBMs are meant for much larger distances, but it’s a non-verbal message: “our weapons are ready”, gestures Putin, “next time it may be London or New York, tread carefully!”
Out of curiosity, do we know from where in the Russian Federation these ICBM's were launched ? For sake of not wasting fuel (good Hells, hydrazine is stupid-expensive these days, even by the drum at Costco) I'd hope they were launched from at least central or Far East Russia.
IDK, latest is that some (USA) deny they were ICBM, while others (Ukraine) say they were. Russia remains silent on the specifics but Putin sais (quote from RT): “We will determine the targets during further tests of our newest missile systems based on the threats to the security of the Russian Federation. We believe that we have the right to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities.”
So, whatever they threw at Dnipro, it was a threat to NATO.
It’s also clear that they won’t tell in public the exact coordinates of the launching silo but that the USA and other powers surely know at least the approximate location, sequence of events and other details. The USA is not anymore a credible source than any other: they clearly deny things that are very real all the time.
Oh, the USA knew exactly where that AA missile what downed the Malaysian Airlines flight came from years back, yet curiously withheld this conclusive evidence for “reasons”.
If it’s politically useful the Americans are suddenly “all pics & data” (KAL 007 incident for example) yet when the facts don’t fit their chosen narrative then they suddenly have no evidence (Tim Burns Syndrome).
Everybody knows that it was downed by two Ukrainian jet fighters, witnesses said so, the impacts on the cabin were consistent.
I accepted that as the most likely explanation. I do lean towards the “Ukrainian pilots thought it was Russia’s Presidential plane returning from G8 in Brasil” but the timing of the conference and Putin’s return doesn’t line up.
It was a fabricated incident, a planned “false flag”. Also notice that there was something odd in those days with Malaysian Airlines in that year of 2014, just months earlier another flight from the same airline was kidnapped (by the pilot himself?) as it flew to China, reversed course and was tracked to Diego Garcia, the main and most secretive US base in the Indian Ocean. Maldivan fishermen saw it flying at low altitude over the archipelago and there’s a lot of obscurity regarding the reasons (RT said then that four of the passengers were co-holders to a semiconductor patent along with their company Freescale Semiconductors, owned by Jacob Rotschild, which inherited their rights) and to what happened to the passengers (one of them, Philip Wood from California, managed to call home but nothing else was known of him afterwards). I suspect that the two incidents may be related but not exactly how.
IDK, latest is that some (USA) deny they were ICBM, while others (Ukraine) say they were. Russia remains silent on the specifics but Putin sais (quote from RT): “We will determine the targets during further tests of our newest missile systems based on the threats to the security of the Russian Federation. We believe that we have the right to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities.”
So, whatever they threw at Dnipro, it was a threat to NATO.
It’s also clear that they won’t tell in public the exact coordinates of the launching silo but that the USA and other powers surely know at least the approximate location, sequence of events and other details. The USA is not anymore a credible source than any other: they clearly deny things that are very real all the time.
Latest even (from RT): “Putin confirmed that Russia has used its latest hypersonic ballistic
missile system, nicknamed ‘Oreshnik’ (Hazel in English), during a strike
on a Ukrainian defense industry facility in Dnepropetrovsk on Thursday
morning. The missile is part of Moscow’s new generation of medium-range
weapons and reportedly travels at speeds of up to Mach 10 (2.5-3
kilometers per second)”.
So it’s not an ICBM but a new type of “medium range” hypersonic missile. Now it’s official.
So Hazel (one of my fave characters from ‘Watership Down’)(the animated movie was a doozy, like ‘Rats of NIMH’ was) was not ICBM or the “precedent-setting” ICBM was actually Hazel, then ?
Confused if these were two separate incidents.
It's a great idea for Biden to be removed by that Amendment, but I suspect it'd look too much to too many, that Harris "just wants to be President at any cost".
That, and Trump will convince his GISS Army followers that "Kamala's not going to let me be your President on Jan 20th, a couple hundred of you should start a halfassed riot maybe, I'll Pardon you."
Harris is more of a pupper than Biden but TBH, Biden shoul have been declared incapable 4 years ago: a presidential republic can’t exist with a zombie president.
FAFO – Tonight may be Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass for Kiev.
From my sources air and ship assets are massing for strikes.
From other sources many NATO countries are closing their embassies in Kiev and running for the hills!
The European Union is largely a German project:
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1859477251831533763
Just yesterday, while I was at work, everyone's mobile simultaneously blared the two-tone Emergency Alert signal used by the Province of British Columbia.
It was just a test (allegedly there was advanced notice seen by some) but my VERY FIRST thought was, literally, "Oh f**k, we finally pushed the Russian Federation too far."
Looked at my phone to see if it might read :
SKYKING SKYKING DO NOT ANSWER
SKYKING SKYKING DO NOT ANSWER
SKYKING SKYKING DO NOT ANSWER
SKYKING SKYKING DO NOT ANSWER
Run… Rabbit Run…! Just Like the coward Zionist fighter jets over Iraqi airspace 75 kilometers from the border being locked on by the Iranian over-the-horizon radar…!