Don’t let Putin make the Ukraine war rules

On September 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the US for a week of activities including a meeting with US President Joe Biden and Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Zelensky has said he will present his “plan for victory” in the Ukraine war.

A particular but important issue is whether Washington will assent to Zelensky’s desire to use Western-supplied missiles for strikes inside Russia. So far, the US government only prohibits Ukraine from aiming the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which has a range of up to 190 miles, against military targets in Russia itself.

The US also has the authority to block Ukraine from firing Storm Shadow cruise missiles, made by a UK-French consortium, into Russia because they contain US-made components. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reportedly lobbied Biden to loosen the restrictions.

Biden said on September 22 that he had not yet made a decision on the issue. He is skittish about possibly provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin into a direct conflict with the US or its European allies.

On September 12, Putin again stoked this fear, saying on Russian TV that if Western countries let Ukraine use their missiles to strike targets within Russia, “it would mean that NATO countries... are at war with Russia,” which he said would “change the very nature of the conflict,” a hint at using his nuclear weapons.

Some non-Russian commentators have bought this line. For example, an op-ed published on September 14 in Asia Times (and originally here) by Stephen Bryen, a former senior US Defense Department official, echos and amplifies Putin.

Bryen argues that NATO is “declaring war” on Russia, tantamount to starting “World War III.” He believes