Introduction – May 15, 2023

By supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons systems, Britain and its Western allies are creating deep well of resentment and hostility in Moscow that will not be easily dispelled.

That’s because with a range of 350 miles, the air launched Storm Shadow can theoretically strike Moscow.

The West obviously sees Russia as an obstacle to its broader global ambitions. As a result it has embarked on a campaign to dismember the Russian Federation and reduce it to a group of smaller states that can be more easily managed.

To this end the West is now using Ukraine as a proxy and as has been noted elsewhere, the West is ready to fight to the last Ukrainian to achieve its aims.

If it hasn’t already realized it, then at some point Moscow will recognize that if it wants to solve its problems with Ukraine then it will have to deal with those that are arming and supporting it. And that means that it is going to have to strike at Ukraine’s Western backers.

Initially, Putin tried using minimal force in Ukraine. There is after all, a bond of kinship between Russians and Ukrainians, especially those in eastern Ukraine. The West, however, took this as a sign of weakness and supplied Kiev with more arms.

Having realized his error, Putin went onto to mobilize nearly half-a-million reservists for the campaign we see unfolding before us.

While in response, the West is now supplying Kiev with longer-range weapons and by doing so it is only helping to escalate the conflict still further.

There will be a price to pay for this. It cannot end well and at some point, maybe even before the end of summer, we could well see Russian armored columns drive into Western Europe. Ed.

Russia for the first time claims downing of British Storm Shadow missile

Reuters – May 15, 2023

Russia’s Defence Ministry said for the first time on Monday that it had downed a long-range Storm Shadow missile supplied to Ukraine by Britain, which announced last week that it was providing them.

The ministry said in its daily briefing on the Ukraine conflict that it had shot down the cruise missile, as well as shorter-range U.S.-built HIMARS-launched and HARM missiles. Reuters was unable to verify the reports.

Britain is the first country to publicly supply Kyiv with long-range cruise missiles, which will allow Ukrainian forces to hit Russian troops and supply depots far behind the front lines as it prepares a major counteroffensive.

Moscow said on Sunday that Ukraine had used the missiles to strike industrial sites in the Russian-controlled city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia viewed Britain’s decision to supply the missiles “extremely negatively”

“Britain claims to be at the forefront among those countries that continue to pump weapons into Ukraine,” he told reporters in a daily call.

source