Twelve days after the US presidential election, Joe Biden is faced with the reality of the hourglass. The Democrat has only a few weeks left to consolidate the achievements of his mandate, before Donald Trump returns to the White House. While the latter’s intentions remain unclear regarding the war in Ukraine, which he promised to resolve in record time, Joe Biden has finally given in to a request made by kyiv for months, we learned from a source official Sunday November 17. From now on, Washington authorizes, on a case-by-case basis, the use by the Ukrainian army of long-range missiles to strike Russia in depth, namely the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which can reach a target nearly 300 kilometers away. .
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The aim here is to repel Moscow’s counterattack – with nearly 50,000 men, including 10,000 North Koreans – in the Russian region of Kursk, conquered by kyiv in August. This key decision, which comes during a weekend of massive Russian strikes in Ukraine, is causing immense bitterness among supporters of the invaded country due to its delay. It will not allow the balance of power to be reversed, but it offers kyiv a long-awaited military option. She does not draw a possible victory, but frees a hand tied behind her back. The priority is to retain strategic assets – such as a piece of Russian territory – before Donald Trump takes office, who intends to push for negotiations.
Until now, the American refusal to allow deep strikes was explained by the fear of an escalation on the Russian side, Moscow having constantly brandished the threat of a nuclear weapon. The escalation, however, took place in another form, if we judge by the massive presence of North Korean soldiers alongside the Russian army. Rarely have we seen an American administration deny itself with such consistency on a major international security issue. As was the case with other military equipment, such as tanks or fighter planes, it therefore gave in after having delayed this moment too long, to the detriment of Ukraine.
The Biden administration’s strategy called into question
This systemic American lag in relation to the needs and emergencies in Ukraine, despite massive military and financial aid since 2022, has made other actors, such as Iran, which has provided hundreds of drones to Russia, more daring. “The Biden administration did the right thing by standing with Ukraine when it was invadednotes Andrew Michta, expert at the Atlantic Council think tank on the X network, but then she fell into the trap of believing that wars can be “managed” rather than fought. From then on, Ukraine never benefited from the means to break the Russian army and make it unfit to fight. »
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