Ukraine's invasion of Russian territory could change course of war - US senator
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Democratic Senator of Arizona, Mark Kelly, believes that Ukraine's decision to confront Russian aggression by attacking Russia itself could alter the course of the war, reports Politico.
Speaking on CBS, Senator Mark Kelly remarked that 130,000 Russians have had to leave their homes and, at this point in this conflict, I think the Ukrainians did something unpredictable that could change the tide of how this conflict’s gonna play out.
Politico recalls that during Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there were concerns that expanding the war into Russian territory could ignite a regional or global conflict. However, the war largely reached a stalemate until Ukrainian forces advanced into Russia's Kursk region.
The host asked Kelly if he was comfortable with American weapons being used on Russian soil.
"I am at this point. The Ukrainians were illegally attacked by Vladimir Putin. ... He is intentionally killing women, children, old people. It was an illegal invasion. This incursion, and I’ll just, let’s characterize it that way for now. I don’t think the Ukrainians want to intentionally hold Russian territory for a long period of time, but this really set Putin back on his heels," the senator responded.
He emphasized that the US should continue to provide military support to Ukraine.
According to Kelly, Ukraine's offensive should teach Russians that President Vladimir Putin is not the invincible protector he has portrayed himself to be.
"He has always tried to characterize himself as somebody that is going to protect Russia. I think his citizens are seeing the results of what he has done in Ukraine that now they are somewhat at risk," Kelly added.
Another opinion
At the same time, researchers from the American Institute for the Study of War believe that the scale of the war precludes its resolution through a single operation. Neither the Ukrainian operation in Russia’s Kursk region nor the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine will lead to victory in the war, according to the ISW report from August 17, as reported by Voice of America.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi stated that since Ukraine cannot conduct unlimited strikes with Western long-range weapons on Russian territory, "there is a need to use the Armed Forces to liberate these border areas from the Russian military contingent that strikes at Ukraine."
