Ukraine wants permission from the west to use long-range Storm Shadow missiles to destroy targets deep inside Russia, believing this could force Moscow into negotiating an end to the fighting.
Senior figures in Kyiv have suggested that using the Anglo-French weapons in a “demonstration attack” will show the Kremlin that military sites near the capital itself could be vulnerable to direct strikes.
The thinking, according to a senior government official, is that Russia will consider negotiating only if it believes Ukraine had the ability “to threaten Moscow and St Petersburg”. This is a high-risk strategy, however, and does not so far have the support of the US.
Ukraine has been lobbying for months to be allowed to use Storm Shadow against targets inside Russia, but with little success. Nevertheless, as its army struggles on the eastern front, there is a growing belief that its best hope lies in counter-attack.
First of all, please consider using paragraphs.
Second of all, Ukraine was attacked by Russia. So why does Ukraine need to avoid triggering Russia, but Russia doesn’t have to worry about triggering Ukraine? We aren’t going to have a lot of geopolitical stability if countries can invade others without worry of consequences. Far better to make it extremely risky to invade another country, then the various despots of the world will think twice about doing it.
Besides, right now Ukraine is negotiating. Start with “we want to hit targets deep inside Russia” and then compromise down to using Storm Shadows only in specific parts of Russia, like the Kursk and Belgorad regions.