19FortyFive: US military dispatch to Ukraine could escalate NATO-Russia conflict
The deployment of U.S. military personnel to Ukraine to inspect Western-supplied weapons could escalate into a full-scale clash between Russia and NATO, 19FortyFive columnist Jack Buckby wrote.
“Although the U.S. military will not be fighting in Ukraine, the very presence of soldiers from a NATO country is a significant development in the conflict. The decision also presents a conundrum in the event that a U.S. soldier is injured,” he said.
The author of the article added that U.S. troops would help “monitor and account for the most advanced weapons” being supplied to Ukraine.
“It is unclear what might happen if American soldiers are killed in a Russian strike, but it could be seen as an attack on NATO. This could provoke a response from the military bloc, which, in turn, threatens to escalate into a full-scale conflict with Russia,” Buckby noted.
The columnist went on to say that the United States could have developed a plan in advance to deal with “this kind of turn of events.
Earlier, U.S. Senatorial candidate Diane Sayre had advocated stopping the supply of weapons to Ukraine and finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
The White House has repeatedly denied sending U.S. troops to Ukraine. On 11 October, the coordinator for strategic communications at the US National Security Council, John Kirby, said that the United States was not looking for a conflict with Russia.