Ukraine fired long-range missiles into Russia for the first time Tuesday, marking the 1,000th day of the Russia-Ukraine War. The attacks came a day after President Biden authorized Ukraine to use long-ranged missiles as a response to North Korea sending support troops into Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky requested permission for the use of long-range missiles early into the war, but the Biden Administration hesitated, due to concerns of escalation. Following the policy change, Russia updated their nuclear doctrine to say that an attack from a non-nuclear state backed by a nuclear state would be considered a joint assault on Russia.
Outlets on both the left and right pointed out the escalation Biden’s policy change brings. While some outlets on the left praised the policy change despite plausible Russian retaliation, many outlets on the right were more critical, noting that the timing will mainly affect the Trump Administration.
A writer for The Guardian (Left bias) argued, “Biden’s decision is welcome, if overdue. Amid grinding Russian ground advances, EU feuding and Donald Trump’s unpropitious re-election, the war has reached a critical juncture, militarily and diplomatically. The outcome is in the balance as the scales momentarily tip towards more death and destruction, then back towards some form of Trump-imposed land-for-peace sell-out. Russia has the advantage at present. But Kyiv will not and must not give up.”
The National Review Opinion (Right bias) published a piece by Noah Rothman (Lean Right bias), stating, “As has become his habit, Biden has finally shown some spine, albeit too late to meaningfully contribute to the U.S. interests in Europe that Russia presently threatens. The Trump administration should not take office operating under the delusion that Biden was somehow too reckless in his management of this conflict.”
A writer for The Economist (Lean Left bias) argued, “Mr Biden may be hoping that Mr Putin will not respond aggressively in order to keep open the prospect of cutting a deal with Mr Trump next year. The president-elect reportedly told Mr Putin on a phone call that he should not escalate the war. If that is true—the Kremlin denies that the phone call took place—then both Mr Biden and Mr Trump will have had their answer in the skies above Ukraine in the early hours of November 17th: the largest air attacks since last year, crippling Ukraine’s power grid and killing a reported 18 people.”
A New York Post Opinion (Right bias) columnist argued, “In the two months that are left until the end of the Biden administration, the United States and its allies should do everything in their power to stabilize Ukraine’s long frontline and strengthen Kyiv’s position ahead of the coming talks… Steamrolling Ukraine at the negotiating table increases the likelihood that Putin waltzes in once Trump leaves office or that, through hybrid warfare, he turns Ukraine into a failed state without a viable shot at membership in the European Union.”
