Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil will increase, according to the head of the UK’s armed forces.Tony Radakin said Ukraine’s ability to conduct deep operations will become a growing feature of the war.The US is reportedly unhappy with Ukraine’s strikes on targets in Russia.
Thanks for signing up!
Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go.
download the app
Ukraine will increase its long-range strikes inside Russian airspace, the UK’s military chief said, as the war enters its next stage.Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the head of the UK’s armed forces, told the Financial Times that “as Ukraine gains more capabilities for the long-range fight . . . its ability to continue deep operations will [increasingly] become a feature” of the war.Ukraine’s strikes on Russian soil have so far included attacks on oil facilities and military targets.Radakin said such strikes “definitely have an effect.”
Radakin’s position differs from those of his US counterparts. The Financial Times previously reported that US officials are concerned that Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil facilities could raise oil prices and prompt retaliation, and that it wants Ukraine to ease up on them.House lawmakers on the weekend passed a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine, after Republicans spent six months blocking it.Radakin said that new military aid from the West aims to help Ukraine shape the war “in much stronger ways” and that Ukraine is facing a “difficult” fight.But Radakin told the Financial Times that looking at a “snapshot” of the war hides some longer-term trends that are actually in Ukraine’s favor.He said that these include the new military aid packages from the US and Europe, Ukraine’s increasingly successful long-range strikes, and Russia’s “total failure” to cut off grain exports via the Black Sea.”The danger with any snapshot is that it [ignores] where we are now with where we will be in next couple of years,” he said.Radakin also said that people need to stop “feting Russia” and believing that it “somehow has got major advantages.”
