Top Russian government officials responded today to President Biden’s announcement that the U.S. would be supplying advanced rocket systems to Ukraine, with sharp rebukes and warnings. They were singularly unimpressed with “assurances” from both the U.S. and Ukraine governments that the new weapons won’t be used to attack inside Russian territory, viewing these as sugar-coating for a dangerously provocative escalation. They have no intention of being the frog that gets boiled as the temperature of the water is slowly raised – as the Establishment’s anti-Russia policy was recently stated frankly by Malcolm Chalmers, Deputy Director General of the Royal United Services Institute.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Reuters: “We believe that the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire.” Asked how Russia would respond if the weapons were used to strike inside Russia (their range is 80 kms., or about 50 miles), Peskov said: “Let’s not talk about worst-case scenarios,” but stressed that Russia viewed the decision “extremely negatively.”
