Danish PM urges end to 'red lines' in Ukraine conflict escalation
- Ukraine's allies must lift all restrictions on the use of delivered weapons to strike Russia, - said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. - My proposal: let's end the discussion about "red lines," - she added in an interview with Bloomberg.
The head of the Danish government categorically rejected the view that agreeing to attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces with Western weapons deep into Russian territory "would mean escalation and dragging Kyiv's allies into the war".
- The most important "red line" has already been crossed. And it happened when the Russians invaded Ukraine, - she added. At the same time, Mette Frederiksen emphasized that she would never allow anyone from Russia to decide "what is right in NATO, in Europe, or in Ukraine".
"Let's end the discussion about 'red lines'"
- My proposal: let's end the discussion about "red lines." During this war, publicly discussing red lines has been a mistake because it gives the Russians a very good card in hand, - she stated.
The topic of "red lines" has been ongoing since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. These have been repeatedly crossed by Ukraine's allies - the first red line was providing support to Kyiv, the next delivering tanks, and yet another delivering F-16s. Each time, the Kremlin - wanting to provoke fear and panic, activated its nuclear deterrent.
On Sunday, the Washington Post wrote: The Kremlin is aware that "there has been an overflow of nuclear threats". However, Putin must somehow react to the continuous "crossing of red lines by the West." - Moscow should take more serious and significant steps to show the seriousness of its intentions, - said a Russian scientist with close ties to high-ranking diplomats.
Threatened to strike Strasbourg
A few days ago, the Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Volodin, threatened the West that if it permitted Kyiv to attack Russian targets with long-range weapons, Moscow would launch a Sarmat missile.
- Russia intends to respond harshly, using stronger weapons, - claimed Volodin. - No one should have any illusions about this. Before making such a decision, lessons from World War II should be recalled. For comparison, the Sarmat missile needs about 3 minutes and 20 seconds to reach Strasbourg – warned Volodin.
Fortunately, Russian technological thought exploded during tests still in the silo, which the Kremlin does not officially report.
Extraordinary resolution for Ukraine
On September 19, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on EU countries to immediately lift all restrictions on attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Russian territory using Western weapons. The document states that these restrictions prevent Ukraine from fully exercising its right to self-defence and make it defenceless. "Insufficient supplies of ammunition and weapons, as well as restrictions on their use threaten to undermine previous efforts," – noted the resolution.
On September 20, "The Times," citing informed sources, reported that the United States and the United Kingdom intend to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles on Russian territory but will not announce their decision publicly to avoid giving Russia the opportunity to prepare for attacks.
At this moment, Ukraine can use Western weapons only against targets in occupied territories, including Crimea, as well as against military objects on Russian territory located near the border with Ukraine.
This restriction, however, does not allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to strike at key Russian airfields from which attacks on Ukrainian cities are conducted. Therefore, Kyiv is asking Western countries for permission to strike delivered missiles at targets deep in Russia.
