Every bullet, bean, bandage, and bomb the West sends Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy risks a major world war and a nuclear exchange with Russia, but apparently, that risk isn't good enough for him.
Zelenskyy blew his top after being informed by President Joe Biden that now is not the right time for Ukraine to be brought into NATO because, since the country is in an active state of war with Russia after President Vladimir Putin invaded in February 2022, admission would immediately trigger Article 5, which requires all other NATO countries to come to the assistance of the country that was attacked.
“[We have] received signals that certain wording is being discussed without Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote in a rambling statement posted to Twitter on Tuesday morning, calling it “unprecedented and absurd when [a] time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine’s membership.”
“It seems there is no readiness neither to invite Ukraine to NATO nor to make it a member of the Alliance,” he noted further, according to The National Pulse.
Former US NATO ambassador Ivo Daalder recently concluded: “Bringing Ukraine into the alliance is tantamount to joining the war.”
The United States, Britain, France, and Germany, key NATO members, are planning to propose security guarantees for Ukraine modeled after those in place for Israel. Although Israel is not officially a member of NATO and the Western alliance is not obligated to protect it, the United States does offer significant military aid to ensure Israel maintains a "qualitative military edge" over its neighboring countries, the outlet noted.
Meanwhile, in concert with Great Britain, France has decided to send long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine so Zelenskyy's armed forces can strike Russia's armed forces from deep behind front lines.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced the move in tandem with the 31-member NATO alliance summit in Lithuania, at which he revealed that the goal is to mount a larger counteroffensive to Russia recently.
"I have decided to increase deliveries of weapons and equipment to enable the Ukrainians to have the capacity to strike deeply," Macron said, without actually revealing precisely how many missiles he is planning to send to Ukraine.
It is suspected, based on statements made by a French diplomatic source, that 50 SCALP missiles produced by the European manufacturer MBDA will be sent to Ukraine to round out the deal. Russia, obviously, won't be happy.
And like the U.S., the long-range cruise missiles Macron discussed would weaken French forces because they would come from existing French military stocks, adding in a statement to reporters that it will be a "significant number" once the deal is done and the weapons are delivered.
France previously sent shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, as well as Crotale short-range anti-air missiles, which are used to intercept low-flying missiles and aircraft.
For many months now, Ukraine has been begging the United States, its main supplier, for longer-range missiles to shoot at Russia. U.S. officials have yet to send anything in this category.
As for the missiles Britain is sending to Ukraine, these are a Franco-British type of missile, known as Storm Shadow, that is also produced by MBDA.
France's SCALP version possesses a range of approximately 250 kilometers, surpassing Ukraine's existing missile capabilities by a factor of three. According to a French military source, these missiles are being integrated into Ukrainian warplanes of Russian origin. While the deployment of these missiles undoubtedly signifies an escalation in the conflict, there is an argument made by Western powers that it is a proportional response.
This is based on the claim that Russia has been utilizing cruise missiles launched from distances spanning thousands of kilometers. However, it is important to note that this escalation carries the risk of prompting further retaliation from Russia.
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