all these “new” weapons illustrate the escalation of the confrontation

WAR IN UKRAINE – Weapons that are faster, more modern, but above all more deadly. In a few days, the war between Ukraine and Russia changed its face for material reasons. The American ally of kyiv, by finally authorizing the use of weapons hitherto prohibited, then Moscow with its unprecedented military response, showed that the concept of “red line” definitely had nothing to do in this conflict.

As you can discover in the video at the top of the articleseveral weapons have just been introduced. On the Ukrainian side, to deal with a situation which has greatly deteriorated on the front, American President Joe Biden made resounding announcements:

• On November 20, the sending of antipersonnel mines “non-persistent”. These mines have the specificity of operating on batteries, which makes them inoperable after a given period. A way for Washington to reassure the use of this weapon linked to numerous crimes against civilians in armed conflicts. The White House also says it has received assurances from kyiv that these weapons hidden in the ground would serve to prevent the advance of Russian soldiers and would not be used against the Russian population. Note that Ukraine, like Russia, already used mines on the battlefield.
• On November 18, the American president authorized, as kyiv had requested for many months, the use on Russian territory of missiles MGM-140 ATACMS. Until now, these so-called “semi-ballistic” missiles (with a range of up to 300 kilometers) supplied by the American army could only be fired in defense from Ukrainian territory. An announcement followed almost instantly by the bombing of a Russian missile depot in the Bryansk region, more than 100 kilometers inside Russian territory.
• Following this announcement, kyiv also drew missiles « Storm Shadow »of Franco-British manufacture but supplied by London. Like the ATACMS, these munitions were already used with the promise of only bombing Ukrainian territory. With the green light from the United Kingdom, Ukraine would have bombed, once again, a military target.

These new developments, which undoubtedly indicate a further worsening of the conflict, can be explained in part by American domestic policy. In two months, Joe Biden will no longer be president and as a member of the Democratic administration pointed out to the Reuters news agency, he would like to ensure the most massive support from the United States when handing over power to Donald Trump.

The real estate magnate, for his part, did not give encouraging signals for kyiv and made President Zelensky fear a rapid solution to the conflict, from which the United States could then quickly disengage. Ukraine, in this scenario, risks being the big loser.

A ballistic missile in the form of a warning

On the Russian side, the tone has also risen, with worrying changes on the front. Vladimir Putin thus made several decisions in response, it seems, to American authorizations.

• Moscow thus announced a “revision of nuclear doctrine”. In essence, an enemy state which does not itself have an H-bomb could be struck by Russian nuclear weapons if it is the ally of a country which has one. This decree, signed on November 19 by the Russian president but in preparation since September, transparently refers to the Ukraine-United States couple.
• A decision followed – according to the Ukrainian authorities – a few hours later by an unprecedented act with the bombing of a Ukrainian target by a missile X-47M2 Kinzhal. This is a ballistic missile, with a range of 2,000 kilometers, designed to carry conventional loads such as atomic bombs.

Once some Russian military propaganda has been removed (the Kinzhal has been described since its birth in 2018 as “hypersonic” by Moscow, but this is in no way a specialty of this weapon), its use in Ukrainian territory is a clear warning. Not only can Vladimir Putin strike anywhere in Ukraine, he has the vectors to implement his revised nuclear doctrine.

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