RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Pentagon rejects Zelensky missile request – WSJ
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has informed Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky that violating long-standing US arms deals with other customers awaiting ATACMS missile systems is “too much to ask,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
The US sent Ukraine an unknown number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, but Kiev has apparently used most of them and has for months been requesting more – as well as permission to strike deeper into Russian territory.
The Pentagon has been hesitant to send additional missiles, arguing that Moscow has already relocated its valuable targets out of range and that the US military has a finite number of ATACMS in its stockpiles.
Additionally, the US has obligations to paying customers who ordered the systems first. The Pentagon chief rejected Zelensky’s recent plea to prioritize the delivery of ATACMS to Ukraine, insisting that breaking existing arms deals would be “a lot to ask,” according to the WSJ, which cited two US officials and a Ukrainian government adviser.
The US has reportedly been exploring other options, urging its allies to send missiles from their stockpiles and even considering buying back weapons it sold to other countries. However, a CNN report earlier this year stated that the US has “made it clear that Kiev should not expect another significant delivery of ATACMS.”
Washington and its NATO partners have provided Ukraine with three types of long-range missile systems: American-made ATACMS with a range of 300 km, as well as British Storm Shadow and French SCALP missiles, each with a range of about 250 km. Kiev has repeatedly used these missiles to target Russian infrastructure and civilian areas, including a strike that killed four people and injured over 150 at a beach in Crimea’s Sevastopol.
On his latest trip to Washington to present the so-called “victory plan” to Kiev’s main sponsor, Zelensky “secretly” requested Tomahawk missiles, whose 2,400 km range far exceeds any of the Western-made weapons previously supplied. NYT sources described the request as “totally unfeasible,” labeling it “unrealistic and dependent almost entirely on Western aid.”Zelensky has neither confirmed nor denied the request but expressed frustration over the public disclosure of classified details from his discussions with the White House.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that if the West permits long-range strikes using foreign-made weapons against Russia, it would signify that NATO is “waging war” against the country. He said that Kiev is incapable of carrying out such attacks independently, as they require targeting data that can only be provided by the US-led bloc.
Putin also proposed changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, stating that Moscow would treat an attack by a non-nuclear nation backed by a nuclear state as a joint assault on Russia when determining a retaliatory response. He later expressed hope that Kiev’s Western backers heard the warning.
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Russia open to hearing Trump's proposals for ending the war, an official says
Russia is open to hearing President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals on ending the war, an official said, as a Russian drone killed one person and wounded 13 in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa and the European Union foreign policy chief held talks in Kyiv after the change in U.S. leadership.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow and Washington were “exchanging signals” on Ukraine via “closed channels.” He did not specify whether the communication was with the current administration or Trump and members of his incoming administration.
Russia is ready to listen to Trump’s proposals on Ukraine provided these were “ideas on how to move forward in the area of settlement, and not in the area of further pumping the Kyiv regime with all kinds of aid,” Ryabkov said Saturday in an interview with Russian state news agency Interfax.
In Kyiv, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told reporters that Ukraine is ready to work with the Trump administration.
“Remember that President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy was one of the first world leaders ... to greet President Trump,” he said. “It was a sincere conversation (and) an exchange of thoughts regarding further cooperation.”
“Also during the telephone conversation, further steps to establish communication between teams were discussed and this work has also begun. Therefore, we are open for further cooperation and I’m sure that a unified goal of reaching just peace unites all of us,” Sybiha said.
Sybiha appeared alongside EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who said his visit is meant to stress the European Union’s support to Ukraine.
“This support remains unwavering. This support is absolutely needed, for you to continue defending yourself against Russian aggression,” he said.
Borrell urged “faster deliveries and fewer self imposed red lines” in getting Western weapons to Ukraine. He had appealed to allies in August to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied long-range weapons to strike Russian military targets.
In Odesa, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said high-rise residential buildings, private houses and warehouses in the Black Sea port city were damaged overnight by the “fall” of a drone. He did not specify whether the drone had been shot down by air defenses.
A further 32 Russian drones were shot down over 10 Ukrainian regions, while 18 were “lost,” according to Ukraine’s air force, likely having been electronically jammed.
A Russian aerial bomb struck a busy highway overnight in the northeastern Kharkiv province, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekohov said. No casualties were reported.
Russia is mounting an intensified aerial campaign that Ukrainian officials say they need more Western help to counter. However, doubts are deepening over what Kyiv can expect from a new U.S. administration. Trump has repeatedly taken issue with U.S. aid to Ukraine, made vague vows to end the war and has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In Russia, the Defense Ministry said 50 Ukrainian drones were destroyed over seven Russian regions — more than half over the Bryansk region, bordering Ukraine.
RT/Reuters