https://www.rt.com/russia/577144-biden-ukraine-atacms-missiles/
Supplying long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine is “still in play,” US President Joe Biden told reporters on Monday. While Biden and his officials previously said they wouldn’t give Kiev such weapons, they are now walking back those statements, as was the case with Abrams tanks and F-16 fighter jets.
Speaking to the media outside the White House, Biden was asked “is it time for ATACMS for Ukraine?” to which he responded “that’s still in play.”
Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, the MGM-140 ATACMS is a tactical ballistic missile with a range of up to 300km (190 miles). ATACMS missiles can be fired from the M270 MLRS or M142 HIMARS platforms, both of which the US has already given to Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials have been asking their US counterparts for ATACMS missiles since last year, but Biden and his administration have – publicly at least – expressed reluctance. American officials first cited concerns that Ukraine would use these missiles to strike deep within Russian territory, provoking a devastating response from Moscow, before switching tack in recent months and claiming that the US does not have enough of the missiles to spare.
When the UK announced this month that it would arm Kiev with Storm Shadow cruise missiles – which can hit targets more than 250km away, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington would not follow London’s lead.
Russian forces have since intercepted almost 30 Storm Shadow missiles, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told reporters on Monday. Kiev maintains that “100%” of its Storm Shadow missiles have hit their targets.
It is unclear whether the apparent vulnerability of Ukraine’s Storm Shadow missiles to interception is influencing Biden’s thinking on providing ATACMS missiles, or whether handing over the missiles was the president’s long-term plan all along. The Biden administration followed a similar script before it announced that it would provide Kiev with M1 Abrams main battle tanks in January, first ruling out deliveries entirely, then revealing that the idea was “on the table” via media leaks, before finally announcing the decision publicly.
Likewise with the provision of US-made F-16 fighter jets, Biden emphatically declared “no” when asked about handing over the jets last year, before insisting in February that Ukraine “doesn’t need” them, and just last week announcing that the US would train Ukrainian pilots and give its allies permission to supply F-16s to Kiev.
Moscow has repeatedly warned Western nations that weapons deliveries to Ukraine make them de facto participants in the conflict. On Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared that the US and its allies were “playing with fire” by doubling down on their support for Kiev.
Based upon information which came to me discreetly via postal mail, I have concluded that World War 3 can kick-off in less than two weeks, between the dates of June 12 thru 24. The largest NATO air ‘exercise” – Air Defender 23 – takes place in that time period; may cover Ukraine “Counter-Offensive.”
As described during my Memorial Day radio show last night, my wife and son came up to the house here in Pennsylvania, from our regular home in New Jersey, this past Saturday evening. They brought with them, postal mail from my P.O. Box which has accumulated for about 3 weeks.
In that postal mail was a discreet, but large, envelope, containing what can be described as intelligence material about certain NATO planning.
I perused the material and then set about trying to verify it. But with the entire US being on Memorial Day Weekend holiday, it was very difficult reaching my contacts from my years working with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), during which I handled National Security Intelligence, Terrorism, and Foreign Counter-Intelligence.
As of early this morning, Tuesday, May 30, I am able to reach several contacts from my FBI years, and am further verifying the material.
Here’s what I can confirm:
NATO will commence its largest air exercise in history, called “Air Defender 2023” on June 12.
Air Defender 23 will be the most significant military exercise ever carried out in European skies. The event will involve the air forces of 25 nations.
More specifically, Air Defender 23 will represent the most extensive deployment exercise of air forces in the history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, commonly known as NATO. The unprecedented event will involve up to 10,000 exercise participants who will train their flying skills with approximately 220 aircraft. The military exercise will take place in European airspace and under the command of the German Air Force, or Luftwaffe.
By creating this joint exercise, Air Defender 23 aims to enhance and optimize cooperation among NATO forces and show the alliance’s strength. But what exactly are the skills that Air Defender 23 intends its participants to train?
The 25 participating nations plan to investigate how their respective air forces would react and cooperate in case of a military crisis. Mainly, Air Defender 23 will be an opportunity to assess the participants’ joint airborne response to a hypothetical emergency. In this context, Germany will act as a collective defense hub for European airspace.
The 25 participating nations include Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and Greece.
Air Defender 23 will see the arrival of 23 different aircraft types, including the F-35 of the Americans and Dutch, a NATO AWACS reconnaissance aircraft, and, for the first time ever, a Japanese Air Force transport aircraft. Of the 220 aircraft involved, 100 alone will be arriving from 35 states in the US. Those US aircraft constitute the largest deployment of Air National Guard aircraft since Operation Desert Storm in Iraq back in 1991.
(HT REMARK: Not to put too fine a point on it, but one does not move that many aircraft, from that many countries, halfway around the world – and just outside an ongoing conflict zone in Ukraine – just to have an “exercise.”)
The Tribulation is commencing…
Please repent, carry your cross daily and accept the free gift of Jesus Christ’s Death on the Cross for payment for your sins.
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