During the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at the NATO Ramstein Air Base on 6 September, Ukraine presented its three priorities: Air defence (AD) systems and AD missiles; ammunition and equipment for the new brigades; and strengthening Ukraine’s long-range capabilities.

Ukraine's Zelensky stressed that many of the pledged air defence systems had not yet been delivered and emphasised the need for more F-16s. The F-16s are already filling some of the persistent gaps in the AD network.

Ukraine is conducting an offensive in the Kursk oblast and Russia is intensifying its efforts to capture Pokrovsk. Again, it is urgently asking for AD, weapons, and ammunition. It is, therefore, ironic that most of the $7.8 billion in the US Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) remains unused. The Biden administration is engaged in urgent discussions with Congress to allow it to use up $6 billion in military aid for Ukraine before the end of the 2024 fiscal year on 30 September.

President Zelenskiy also urged its allies to ignore Russia’s "red lines" and allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons to strike legal targets on Russian territory to motivate Russia to seek peace.

The use of donated US weapons for long-range strikes into Russia will not turn the tide of the war for Ukraine, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin argued. He argued that Russia has already moved the combat aircraft delivering guided glide bombs outside the range of ATACMS missiles. 
His response ignores several critical factors. Firstly, there are at least 209 other fixed Russian military objects in range of ATACMS but outside the range of the HIMARS that the US does allow Ukraine to use in Russia under some circumstances.

Secondly, the argument ignores the temporarily established ammunition depots, field HQs, GLOC and more, established to support Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.

Thirdly, it ignores the presence of 48 Iskander launchers and recent reports that Iran has just delivered hundreds of Iranian Ababil close-range ballistic missiles and Fateh-360 short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. More shipments of Iranian missiles to Russia are expected. This represents another escalation of the war.

Lastly, Austin ignores the horrific consequences of allowing Russia to launch ballistic missiles and missiles with a ballistic trajectory from what has effectively become a Russian sanctuary. Ukrainian civilians are being killed, wounded and maimed. Cities and critical infrastructure are being destroyed. 

In these contexts, the Russian relocation of its combat jets has no bearing on Ukraine’s urgent need to destroy all the other key enablers, command and control nodes and logistical hubs allowing Russia to continue its crimes against humanity.

It is rather telling that Russia continues to escalate because the West fears escalation. 

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