In all likelihood it has already happened that Ukraine has used American weapons to strike the Crimea. But until then it was a shell game: the peninsula, which became Russian in 2014 after a referendum, is still considered by Ukraine to be its own territory also due to the lack of recognition by the USA, the Council of Europe and most of the Western states. Therefore in fact for Kiev the use of the Stars and Stripes missiles on Crimea falls within the use “within its territory”, as per the agreements. However, something could change. While Emmanuel Macron hypothesizes the sending of troops to Ukraine, the barrier to the use of Western munitions on Russian territory is also about to fall.
The Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg he in fact asked allies to lift restrictions and allow Kiev to directly strike military targets in Russia. “I think the time has come for allies to consider whether they should remove some of the restrictions imposed on the use of the weapons they donated to Ukraine – he said in an interview with the Economist – because, especially now that a lot of fighting is going on in Kharkiv, near the border“. The Secretary General of the Alliance is in fact convinced that “denying Ukraine the possibility of using these weapons against legitimate military targets on Russian territory makes it very difficult for them”. defend themselves.”
Many, however, wonder whether this risks leading to a further escalation which could involve NATO directly in the conflict. Tension is sky high, just think of the nuclear tests that Russia is conducting near the border with the Alliance countries. Stoltenberg reiterated the need to “prevent the conflict from turning into a real war between Russia and NATO in Europe” at the Economist. However, he is convinced that there is a difference between providing weapons, training and direct military involvement. “We will not be involved in combat operations – he assured – we have no intention of sending NATO ground troops to Ukraine. We want to support Kiev, but also to ensure that the situation does not escalate into a full-scale conflict escalation.” A single, small consideration: until a few months ago, there had been many reassurances on the fact that Western “defense” weapons would not be used to strike Russia. But now, despite the declarations, this barrier is preparing to fall…