Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Anatol Lieven
“The raid by alleged Russian opposition paramilitaries from Ukraine into the Russian province of Belgorod should be an alarm call for the Biden administration concerning the difficulty of controlling escalation in Ukraine to minimize the risk of the US getting drawn into the war. For this reason, official U.S. policy continues to oppose Ukrainian attacks on the territory of Russia proper, and last year the Ukrainian government promised Washington not to do so. … Having been invaded by Russia, Ukraine of course has a perfect legal and moral right to hit back at Russian territory. Whether this is in the interests of the United States is a very different matter — and given the critical American role in arming and supporting Ukraine, the U.S. administration also has the right to a say in how its aid is used.” (05/25/23)