“Moscow must burn”: experts explain why Biden-Zelensky’s meeting is important

13 September 11:41
Komersant Ukrainian ANALYSIS

There was a translation error. The Foreign Ministry had to deny the statement about Zelenskyy’s meeting with Biden. The ministry explained that there had been a translation error during a press conference in Kyiv, where US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke. In fact, Blinken confirmed President Joe Biden ‘s upcoming meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, not the Ukrainian president. The press service added that a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his American counterpart Joe Biden is not planned in the near future. Does this mean that the decision has been finalised and what would such a meeting mean at the end of the US President’s term?

A lot will be expected from the meeting between the two leaders, Zelenskyy and Biden, if it takes place. And it will depend on whether Biden has something to offer Ukraine, political strategist Boris Tizengausen said in an exclusive interview with Komersant UkrainianKomersant Ukrainian.

“There will most likely not be a meeting for the sake of a meeting. Because everyone hopes that after it, the ban on strikes on Russian territory with American ATACMS ballistic missiles will be lifted. If this does not happen, the opponents will have an additional trump card in their hands. They will say, “Look, Biden doesn’t even dare to do this”

Boris Tizenhausen

At the same time, Biden should not escalate the situation now, Tizengausen says. It would be tantamount to risking Kamala Harris’s position.

“Biden could be accused of escalation by the Republicans. Of course, from the point of view of Ukraine, Biden could do a lot by the end of his term. However, the White House does not have answers to all Ukrainian questions now, and all communication will be at the level of the US Secretary of State and the Ministry of Defence.”

Boris Tizengausen

Moreover, the closer we get to 5 November in the US, the more the focus is on the election, Tizengausen says. The key events in the US this week are the debates between Trump and Harris.

Ukraine needs to push Biden

Analyst Oleksandr Demchenko is convinced that Ukraine has to put pressure on the American president at the end of his term. Therefore, everything must be done to ensure that such a meeting takes place.

“We need to warm up this old man, we need to do everything to make him increase the number of F-16s and give permission for strikes deep into the territory of Russia, especially on strategic targets and military airports. Biden has “nothing to lose but his chains” at the end of his term, so Kyiv hopes to get permission to launch strikes, and in the end, Moscow and everything else will burn.”

Oleksandr Demchenko

The analyst is confident that Putin does not care about the residents of Kursk and Orenburg regions or even Muscovites. However, when the population is “scared”, when they realise that there is a war going on, the situation will no longer be safe for Putin. The population will start to wonder, “why do we need Putin here?”

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Western weapons and permits to use them

As you know, the United States(and Germany after them) allow the use of weapons provided by them only for strikes on the border territories of Russia. This permission was granted by US President Joe Biden only at the end of May, and before that, strikes on Russian territory with US weapons were prohibited altogether.

However, towards the end of June, the US side unofficially stated that the restrictions “do not apply to geography or a certain radius”. This was interpreted as meaning that Ukraine could allegedly strike at those facilities and territories from which attacks on Ukraine are directly directed, even if they are deeper than the border areas. But it has recently emerged that this may also mean that Ukraine is not allowed to strike certain targets even in the occupied territories.

Experts say that border strikes will not change the situation at the front, so Zelenskyy is asking his partners for permission to use their weapons to strike Russian territory. Some Western countries have already given such permission.

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Author: Anastasia Fedor

Остафійчук Ярослав
Editor