ATACMS – “additional threat”
Putin: Biden should come for tea and pancakes
October 18, 2023, 5:37 p.m
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“War is war”: Vladimir Putin describes the delivery of US ATACMS missiles to Ukraine as a mistake, but remains calm. The Kremlin chief is certain that the new weapons can be defended against and that they will not affect the situation at the front. US experts disagree.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has described the delivery of US ATACMS missiles to defend Ukraine against Russia’s war of aggression as an “additional threat”. However, Russia will also defend against these missiles, Putin said at a press conference in Beijing broadcast on Russian state television. The USA would have made a mistake by allowing itself to be drawn even deeper into the conflict in Ukraine. The missile deliveries would only prolong Ukraine’s “agony,” the Kremlin chief said.
Kiev confirmed on Tuesday that it had received the missiles from the USA and had successfully used them against Russian military bases in eastern Ukraine. It was said in Kiev that several Russian helicopters were destroyed. According to the defense company Lockheed Martin, the ATACMS missiles, which are fired from the ground against targets on the ground, have a range of up to 300 kilometers and hit very precisely. According to US media reports, Kiev received throttled models.
“Firstly, of course, it brings damage; it creates an additional threat. Secondly, of course, we can repel these attacks,” Putin said. “War is war.” At the same time, he emphasized: “But the most important thing is that overall this is fundamentally unable to change the situation at the front.”
The experts at the US Institute for War Studies (ISW) in Washington, on the other hand, are of the opinion that the Ukrainian ATACMS strikes are influencing the Russian invasion. Russia will likely be forced to relocate helicopters and planes to bases further away from the front line. The long-range missiles also pose a “significant threat” to Russian ammunition depots in the hinterland.
“If Russia lost, why are they supplying the ATACMS?”
At the press conference, the Kremlin chief recalled the words of US President Joe Biden, who said in July that Putin had “already lost the war.” “If Russia lost the war, why are they (the US – editor’s note) supplying the ATACMS?” asked Putin. In this case, the US should take back the missiles and all other weapons, said the Kremlin chief. Biden should then come “to us” for tea and pancakes.
Putin spoke after the summit about China’s international infrastructure project “New Silk Road”, to which he had already arrived on Tuesday. At the press conference, Putin also announced permanent fighter jet patrols in the Black Sea. The air force would fly with MiG-31 aircraft over neutral waters. The jets are to be equipped with Kinschal (Dagger) hypersonic missiles.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, Putin claims to have recognized a possible willingness to negotiate. He sees Western politicians refraining from saying that they want to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia in the war. “This is a real transformation,” said Putin. At the same time, he reiterated that Ukraine must first repeal the document that prohibits such peace negotiations with Russia. Putin also met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for a lengthy conversation in Beijing on Tuesday, his first personal meeting with an EU head of government this year. Hungary continues to purchase large quantities of Russian gas.