Kyiv wants to launch Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles at Russia’s heartlands as ‘demonstration’ attacks

Ukraine wants permission from the west to use long-range Storm Shadow missiles to destroy targets deep inside Russia, believing this could force Moscow into negotiating an end to the fighting.

Senior figures in Kyiv have suggested that using the Anglo-French weapons in a “demonstration attack” will show the Kremlin that military sites near the capital itself could be vulnerable to direct strikes.

The thinking, according to a senior government official, is that Russia will consider negotiating only if it believes Ukraine had the ability “to threaten Moscow and St Petersburg”. This is a high-risk strategy, however, and does not so far have the support of the US.

Ukraine has been lobbying for months to be allowed to use Storm Shadow against targets inside Russia, but with little success. Nevertheless, as its army struggles on the eastern front, there is a growing belief that its best hope lies in counter-attack.

  • @Olgratin_MagmatoeEnglish
    1•4 months ago

    I agree with pretty much you’ve said. Though I do want to add on to something.

    Thus, if you want to see continued evolution on this issue by the administration/campaign, you have to first influence the polls. So go on social media and argue with everyone you can sincerely and bring the brutal reality to the American people.

    I’ve taken a similar-ish strategy to this. The Biden campaign and then the Kamala campaign has been emailing me like 8 times a day every day asking for campaign contributions. And every single time I respond back with imagery of the brutality that is being enacted upon palestinians. Unsurprisingly they haven’t responded to a single one. I’m probably just sending shit to their spam folder.

    But yeah, public opinion needs to shift on this. And I think it will, though it’s gonna be a few decades. You may already be familiar with this, but there is a common pattern in student/young adult lead protests, and social rights focused protests, is that in that a few decades after the protests, it turns out that public perception is retroactively on their side.

    This happened with the civil rights movement, vietnam, we’ve seen this with LGBT rights, etc.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Student_protests_in_the_United_States

    Take a look at these, and most of them are now popularly supported, especially the older they are.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/UC_Davis_pepper_spray_incident

    This one in particular is only a decade old at this point, and the imagery behind this did far more for than any individual protest ever could have done.

    So I think eventually the pro palestinian student lead protests will have an effect and be seen as the right side of history. Unfortunately it’s gonna take a long while, and in the meanwhile a lot of palestinians are gonna die. So all we can do is try to speed up that process of changing public perception.

    • @lennybirdEnglish
      -3•4 months ago

      Yeah thanks for the cordial discussion.

      Oh yeah no doubt mass student protests have very often fallen on the correct side of history and there is no question they will be on the right side now. While it can be used as a point to get media time to break through echo-chambers, I worry that advocates are falling for a sort of pattern where the target of their frustration is Biden/Harris where instead they should be explaining to their out-of-touch aunts and uncles, “Have you seen the Palestinian father whose twins and wife were murdered by indiscriminate bombings by Israel? Did you know…” and so on… Of course then polls change; then administrations respond. But targeting the administration when their hands are effectively tied in reflection to polls puts the cart before the horse in my view. After all, popular policies tend to get adopted by both parties when they aren’t controversial (e.g., the no taxing of tips thing, regardless of how good it actually is…)

      I know Putin’s long-term plans drastically differ, depending on a Trump or Harris administration. I assume that goes for Bibi as well.

      • @Olgratin_MagmatoeEnglish
        2•4 months ago

        Yeah thanks for the cordial discussion.

        Of course. It’s always nice to have a polite discussion. It’s hard to have them, especially in an election year.

        And again, I agree with everything you said.

        where instead they should be explaining to their out-of-touch aunts and uncles

        I agree, though the individual strategy there is very case by case basis. I know for me, personally, my parents wouldn’t change their mind ever. I could show them gorey picture after gorey picture sandwiched with mass graves, and they’d be unphased.

        It’s a tough situation when your family is so stubborn.