'We can't let Putin dictate readiness': GOP blasts Biden's 'hollow gesture' to cancel missile test


Republicans lambasted Joe Biden for allowing Vladimir Putin to dictate U.S. readiness after the Pentagon canceled its nuclear missile testing, which they claim is a ‘hollow gesture’ that shows weakness on the world stage. 

‘Disappointing @SecDef decision to cancel routine unarmed reliability test of Minuteman III in the face of Russian bluster,’ Republican Senator Jim Inhofe tweeted Wednesday.

‘Test is critical to ensure our nuke deterrent stays effective,’ the Oklahoma senator added. ‘Deterrence means projecting strength & resolve – not sacrificing readiness for hollow gestures.’

Republican members of the House Armed Service Committee are also not pleased with delaying the nuclear exercise in the midst of war in Ukraine after Russia attacked last week against western warnings.

‘The Biden admin is willing to sacrifice our own readiness in the name of ‘not being escalatory,” the panel’s GOP Twitter posted Wednesday. ‘It’s reportedly the same reason a hypersonic missile test was postponed over the summer.’

‘We cannot let Putin dictate our readiness,’ added the group, which is led by Ranking Member and Alabama Republican Representative Mike Rogers.

Defense Department Spokesperson John Kirby announced Wednesday the Pentagon will delay testing of its intercontinental Minuteman III ballistic missiles scheduled for this weekend.

He claimed the move was to avoid angering Putin as he continued shelling Ukrainian cities and civilian and military casualties continued to climb.

Kirby also described the change of plans as a show of ‘restraint’ after the Russian leader put his country’s nuclear forces on high alert and amid warnings from the U.S. he is deploying vacuum bombs and cluster munitions across the border.

‘This is not a step backwards in our readiness,’ he assured during his press briefing Wednesday announcing the testing of the $7,000,000 intercontinental Minuteman III ballistic missiles – that can travel up to 6,000 miles at 15,000 mph – would be scrapped at Vandenberg Air Force Base in southern California.

Republicans lashed out at Biden's administration for delaying nuclear missile testing in what appeared to be an appeasement of Russian President Vladimir Putin after he put his country's nuclear forces on high alert. Pictured: An aerial view shows a residential building destroyed by Russian shelling in the settlement of Borodyanka in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 3, 2022

Republicans lashed out at Biden’s administration for delaying nuclear missile testing in what appeared to be an appeasement of Russian President Vladimir Putin after he put his country’s nuclear forces on high alert. Pictured: An aerial view shows a residential building destroyed by Russian shelling in the settlement of Borodyanka in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 3, 2022

The Pentagon was meant to do a testing this weekend of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (pictured)

The Pentagon was meant to do a testing this weekend of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (pictured)

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Senator Jim Imhofe said the move was ‘sacrificing U.S. readiness for hallow gestures’ while the House Armed Services Committee GOP Twitter said the Biden administration is ‘willing to sacrifice out own readiness’ to not anger Russia

MARIUPOL: An elderly woman laying in a pool of blood inside her apartment in Mariupol is rescued by paramedics after being injured during shelling of the city

MARIUPOL: An elderly woman laying in a pool of blood inside her apartment in Mariupol is rescued by paramedics after being injured during shelling of the city

Kherson, a city of 300,000 on the Black Sea, appears to have fallen under Russian control after the mayor said 'armed visitors' had taken over a council meeting and imposed curfews. If Putin's men are in full control then it opens up the city of Odessa, home to Ukraine's main naval port, to attack - with amphibious assault ships seen forming up near Crimea today

Kherson, a city of 300,000 on the Black Sea, appears to have fallen under Russian control after the mayor said ‘armed visitors’ had taken over a council meeting and imposed curfews. If Putin’s men are in full control then it opens up the city of Odessa, home to Ukraine’s main naval port, to attack – with amphibious assault ships seen forming up near Crimea today 

Kirby said the U.S. has not followed Putin in putting its nuclear forces on heightened alert in a briefing conducted as a missile struck near Kyiv’s southern main rail station – where thousands of women and children were being evacuated. 

The scrapping of the test flight is the first show of restraint from the U.S. after hitting Putin with a slew of sanctions as the world continued pushing him into international exile. 

Countries from across the world lined up against Russia at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday to overwhelmingly pass a resolution that rebuked Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces.

The delay of missile testing comes after the U.S. Air Force flexed its military muscles Tuesday at one of its airbases in Japan, showcasing a fleet of more than two dozen warplanes in an apparent effort to deter Chinese forces from invading the self-governing island of Taiwan.

Ukraine war: The latest 

  • Peace talks between the two sides resumed today, with negotiators meeting on the Belarus border
  • Vladimir Putin called Emmanuel Macron to tell him that he has no intention of calling off the invasion, will keep going until ‘the end’, and may increase his demands despite suffering losses 
  • Russian forces take the Black Sea port of Kherson in southern Ukraine, the first major city to fall 
  • Invasion so far has been badly managed, a ‘disaster, through and through’, US defence experts say
  • Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv continues to come under heavy Russian shelling 
  • Column of Russian vehicles north of Kyiv ‘stalled’ due to fuel and food shortages, and Ukrainian resistance
  • More than one million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion
  • Moscow admits 498 troops have died in Ukraine, widely thought to be an under-estimate but still a record total for post-Soviet Russia 
  • The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor says an active probe into possible war crimes in Ukraine ‘will immediately proceed’
  • A Bangladeshi sailor is killed in an attack on his vessel docked in the Black Sea port of Olvia
  • Russia floats the possibility of a ceasefire with talks with Ukraine scheduled for Thursday 
  • Russia tells citizens in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol  to leave, raising fears bombing will intensify
  • UN General Assembly demands Russia ‘immediately’ withdraws. Moscow wins support from only four nations – Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria
  • Swedish Armed Forces say four Russian fighter jets entered its airspace in the Baltic Sea
  • US launches ‘KleptoCapture’ with the aim of seizing yachts, private jets and homes of Russian oligarchs
  • Chelsea Russian owner Roman Abramovich confirms he is selling the Premier League club
  • Ukraine invites mothers of captured Russian troops to come and collect their sons
  • Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny urges Russians to protest daily against the invasion
  • US follows the EU in targeting Russian ally Belarus with sanctions for supporting invasion 

The display of military might at Kadena Air Base, which officials called a ‘routine wing readiness exercise,’ comes two days after President Joe Biden dispatched several former senior defense staffers to the island nation in a show of support, as many wonder whether Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could trigger a Chinese invasion of the country.

Kirby claimed the Defense Department Secretary Lloyd Austin is ‘comfortable that the strategic deterrence posture that we have in place is up to the task of defending the homeland and our allies.’

At the top of the briefing Wednesday, Kirby detailed: ‘I often come out here and tell you what we have done both in terms of exercises and operations. Today, I want to talk a little bit about something that we’re not going to do, and I want to explain why.’ 

‘Last weekend, as you saw, President Putin directed a special alert of Russian nuclear forces. Now, in this time of heightened tensions, the United States and other members of the international community rightly saw this as a dangerous and irresponsible and, as I said before, an unnecessary step.’

‘In an effort to demonstrate that we have no intention in engaging in any actions that can be misunderstood or misconstrued, the Secretary of Defense has directed that our Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles test launch scheduled for this week to be postponed,’ he announced.

‘We did not take this decision lightly but instead to demonstrate that we are a responsible nuclear power,’ Kirby added.

Russia stepped up its attacks on Ukraine’s major cities on Wednesday as officials in Mariupol said a ‘full-scale genocide’ was underway as Putin’s men unleashed a 15-hour artillery barrage while Kharkiv also came under heavy bombardment in a dark sign of what could come to be in the capital of Kyiv.

In recent days, thousands of civilians have been queuing at railway stations to flee the city, which has come under bombardment from invading Russian forces. Many fear the worst is yet to come.

The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s reported the powerful explosion was also near the country’s Defence Ministry. Zelenskyy’s office said it was a missile strike and that it wasn’t immediately clear how damaging the strike was or precisely where the missile hit.

Ukraine’s emergency services estimate that 2,000 civilians have been killed so far during Russia’s invasion, though that figure is likely to be an under-count considering it does not take into account Wednesday’s figures. 

The Pentagon canceled an intercontinental ballistic missile test to show 'restraint' and avoid 'misunderstanding' with Russia. Pictured: The Air Force flexed its military muscles at and airbase in Japan Tuesday by showcasing a fleet of more than two dozen warplanes in an apparent effort to deter Chinese forces from invading Taiwan

The Pentagon canceled an intercontinental ballistic missile test to show ‘restraint’ and avoid ‘misunderstanding’ with Russia. Pictured: The Air Force flexed its military muscles at and airbase in Japan Tuesday by showcasing a fleet of more than two dozen warplanes in an apparent effort to deter Chinese forces from invading Taiwan

A Russian air strike hit near Kyiv's southern rail station on Wednesday where thousands of women and children are being evacuated, Ukraine's state-run railway company Ukrzaliznytsya said in a statement. Pictured: Footage purportedly showing a blast in Kyiv on Wednesday night near a southern train station and Ukraine's Ministry of Defence

A Russian air strike hit near Kyiv’s southern rail station on Wednesday where thousands of women and children are being evacuated, Ukraine’s state-run railway company Ukrzaliznytsya said in a statement. Pictured: Footage purportedly showing a blast in Kyiv on Wednesday night near a southern train station and Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence

Ukraine's interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said the strike may have e cut off central heating supply to parts of the Ukrainian capital amid freezing winter temperatures

Ukraine’s interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said the strike may have e cut off central heating supply to parts of the Ukrainian capital amid freezing winter temperatures

A view of heavy damage in the residential area of Borodyanka, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine

A view of heavy damage in the residential area of Borodyanka, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine

CHERNIHIV: A diesel fuel storage facility burns in Chernihiv after being struck with a Russian shell

CHERNIHIV: A diesel fuel storage facility burns in Chernihiv after being struck with a Russian shell

Despite Biden insisting shows of strength toward Russia during his State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, the move on Wednesday is an apparent ploy to appease Putin.

The president warned Putin he ‘has no idea what’s coming’ as he opened his national address Tuesday, declaring that invading a foreign country has ‘costs around the world’.

Biden declared Putin a ‘Russian dictator’ and said Moscow is ‘more isolated than ever’ as he added to already strict Western sanctions against Russia with the closure of U.S. air space to all Russian flights.

He was met with applause after accusing Putin of ‘underestimating’ Western allies and the Ukrainian people.

The president spent the first 12 minutes of his State of the Union speaking about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and announced ‘strict’ new measures against Moscow and its wealthy elite with a new task force to go after the ‘crimes’ of Russian oligarchs, while reaffirming that he would not send American forces into Kyiv.

This included closing U.S. air space to all Russian aircraft and flight.

‘We are coming for your ill-begotten gains,’ Biden said Tuesday night, prompting the rare sight of members of both parties standing to applaud.

Biden also said matter-of-factly on Monday that Americans should not be concerned about nuclear war with Russia. 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki later said the White House sees ‘no reason’ to change its nuclear posture.

‘We think provocative rhetoric like this is dangerous adds to the risk of miscalculation, should be avoided, and we’ll not indulge in it.’ Psaki said. 

Putin explained that ‘aggressive statements’ by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) led him to ratchet up his nuclear defenses.

‘We are assessing President Putin’s directive and at this time we see no reason to change our own alert levels.’

The move raised concerns that the invasion of Ukraine could intentionally or mistakenly lead to a global nuclear war.

Kirby said Monday that Putin now has three quarters of his resources, 120,000 of the 160,0000 troops amassed at the border deployed to Ukraine.

Mariupol, located in the south of Ukraine on the Black Sea, has been surrounded by Russian forces and struck by artillery in an apparent attempt to bomb the city into submission as Putin’s men resort to ‘medieval’ tactics. Sergiy Orlov, the deputy mayor, said entire districts had been leveled with such heavy barrages that medics cannot get in to retrieve the dead.

‘We are near to a humanitarian catastrophe,’ he said. ‘Russian forces are several kilometers away on all sides,’ he added. ‘The Ukrainian army is brave and they will continue to defend the city, but Russia does not fight with their army, they just destroy districts… We are in a terrible situation.’

Minuteman III nuclear missile: The $7million warhead that can travel 6,000 miles at 15,000 mph 

The Minuteman III makes up the Unites States’ land-based ICBM of the nation’s nuclear triad, along with the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) and nuclear weapons carried by long-range strategic bombers.

It is a strategic weapon system using a ballistic missile of intercontinental range. Missiles are dispersed in hardened silos to protect against attack and connected to an underground launch control center through a system of hardened cables.

The $7,000,000 Minuteman III weighs 79,432 pounds and can travel 6,000 miles at 15,000mph.  

Development of the missile began in the 1950s, and was named after the Colonial Minutemen of the American Revolutionary War, who could be ready to fight on short notice.

The Minuteman entered service in 1962 as a deterrence weapon that could hit Soviet cities, with the Minuteman-II entering service in 1965 with a number of upgrades to its accuracy and survivability in the face of anti-ballistic missile (AMB) systems.

In 1970, the Minuteman-III became the first deployed ICBM with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV): three smaller warheads that improved the missile’s ability to strike targets defended by AMBs.

By 1970 during the Cold War, 1,000 Minuteman missiles were deployed, but by 2017, the number had shrunk to 400, deployed in missile silos around Malmstrom AFB, Montana; Minot AFB, North Dakota; and F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming.

From 2027 onwards, Minuteman will be progressively replaced by the new Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) ICBM from 2027 onwards to be built by Northrop Grumman.

The $7,000,000 Minuteman III weighs 79,432 pounds and can travel 6,000 miles at 15,000mph. Above is a test launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in October 2019

The $7,000,000 Minuteman III weighs 79,432 pounds and can travel 6,000 miles at 15,000mph. Above is a test launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in October 2019

MARIUPOL: A Ukrainian woman living in the Black Sea city of Mariupol is evacuated from her home during a brief break in Russian shelling, which has now been continuous for more than 24 hours

MARIUPOL: A Ukrainian woman living in the Black Sea city of Mariupol is evacuated from her home during a brief break in Russian shelling, which has now been continuous for more than 24 hours

A view shows damaged buildings following recent shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in the settlement of Borodyanka in the Kyiv region, Ukraine on Wednesday

A view shows damaged buildings following recent shelling, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, in the settlement of Borodyanka in the Kyiv region, Ukraine on Wednesday

Meanwhile, the Russian missile struck near Kyiv’s southern main rail station on Wednesday night where thousands of women and children are being evacuated, Ukraine’s state-run railway company Ukrzaliznytsya said in a statement.

The station building suffered minor damage and the number of any casualties was not yet known, it said, adding trains were still operating despite the blast and fears of another night of brutal attacks by Vladimir Putin ‘s forces.

Ukraine’s interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said the blast was caused by wreckage from a downed Russian cruise missile, not a direct rocket strike. Trains continued to run. Herashchenko added the strike may have cut off central heating supply to parts of the Ukrainian capital amid freezing winter temperatures.

A Reuters witness said the explosion made the earth shake.

In recent days, thousands of civilians have been queuing at railway stations to flee the city, which has come under bombardment from invading Russian forces. Many fear the worst is yet to come.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office reported the powerful explosion was also near the country’s Defense Ministry.

Unverified reports said two missiles were launched towards the headquarters of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, with one being shot down. The HQ and the railway station sit across a road from one-another in Kyiv.

The Southern Railway station is one of two stations that make up the main passenger rail complex that thousands have used to flee the war over the past week. The two stations are connected by an overhead corridor that crosses over about a dozen tracks.

‘Russian terrorists launched an air strike on the South Railway Station in Kyiv, where thousands of Ukrainian women and children are being evacuated,’ the national railway company said.

A Russian air strike hit near Kyiv's southern rail station on Wednesday where thousands of women and children are being evacuated, Pictured: Civilians are seen at the train station attempting to head west from Kyiv on March 2, 2022

A Russian air strike hit near Kyiv’s southern rail station on Wednesday where thousands of women and children are being evacuated, Pictured: Civilians are seen at the train station attempting to head west from Kyiv on March 2, 2022

People stay inside Dorohozhychi subway station, which is used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine on Wednesday, March 2

People stay inside Dorohozhychi subway station, which is used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine on Wednesday, March 2

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, also came under heavy barrage in the early hours of Wednesday as Russian troops try to surround and seize it after days of fighting – with a rocket slamming into a university building and police station in the early hours before the city council was also struck, with one of the explosions caught in a dramatic video.

The bombardment gives a dark taste of what is likely to come for other cities such as Kyiv after analysts warned Russia’s military – having suffered heavy losses trying to pull off ambitious precision strikes – was likely to resort to surrounding cities and bombing them into submission to force a bloody victory.  

Despite the missile testing delay, the U.S. is still showing its military force in other ways. Air Force craft participated in a so-called 'Elephant Walk' Tuesday at an air base in Japan in an apparent move to deter China from taking Russia's lead and invading Taiwan

Despite the missile testing delay, the U.S. is still showing its military force in other ways. Air Force craft participated in a so-called ‘Elephant Walk’ Tuesday at an air base in Japan in an apparent move to deter China from taking Russia’s lead and invading Taiwan

The so-called ‘Elephant Walk’ – a term referring to the taxiing of large numbers of military aircraft before takeoff, when they are in close formation – saw a grouping of two dozen F-15 fighter aircraft and an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter, collectively valued at just over a billion dollars.

The fleet of jets are assigned to the 44th and 67th Fighter Squadrons, better known by their colloquial epithets, the Vampires and the Fighting Cocks, respectively. The chopper belongs to the 33rd Rescue Squadron, which boasts the motto ‘That Others May Live.’

The formation also featured a $50 million KC-135 Stratotanker refueling plane, assigned to the 909th Air Refueling Squadron, as well as a $270million E-3 Sentry aerial command and control craft, assigned to the 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron.

The show of force comes after months of mounting and increased Chinese aggression directed at Taiwan, including nine Chinese aircraft entering the nation’s airspace Thursday – the day Russian troops invaded Ukraine .

A woman says goodbye as a train with evacuees is about to leave Kyiv's railway station on March 2, 2022

A woman says goodbye as a train with evacuees is about to leave Kyiv’s railway station on March 2, 2022

Paramedics walk at the residential area following recent shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in the settlement of Borodyanka in the Kyiv region, Ukraine March 2, 2022

Paramedics walk at the residential area following recent shelling, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, in the settlement of Borodyanka in the Kyiv region, Ukraine March 2, 2022

Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko  defiantly vowed ‘we will fight’ to defend the city, amid fears it could soon be battered by artillery fire from a 40-mile long death convoy parked nearby. Along with his brother and fellow former boxer Wladimir, the mayor called for more support from the west in an interview on Wednesday.

Ukrainian police said Wednesday they arrested a man who brought explosives hidden in a children’s toy to one of the Kyiv subway stations where thousands of people have been sheltering. The police also said four other suspected saboteurs were arrested, including two who were carrying weapons. 

An opening salvo on Tuesday night struck the Ukrainian capital’s largest TV tower and damaged a nearby Holocaust memorial, killing five bystanders in the process. Hours later, US intelligence said the huge Russian convoy appears to have stalled near Kyiv though it could just be regrouping for a more-determined attack.

Klitschko said that fighting is still ongoing in the cities of Bucha and Hostomel, on the outskirts of Kyiv, where a large number of destroyed Russian vehicles were pictured on Wednesday. He implored people in the city ‘not to lose endurance’, saying all critical infrastructure is still running and humanitarian supplies are being handed out.

‘I ask everyone, for security reasons, not to go outside unnecessarily. At the alarm – go to the shelters,’ he said. ‘The enemy is gathering forces closer to the capital… We are preparing and will defend Kyiv!’

Images showed areas of the city damaged in overnight strikes, as attacks resumed on Ukrainian cities elsewhere in the country – with paratroopers dropping into Kharkiv on Wednesday morning as missiles struck a university in the city having apparently missed a nearby police headquarters.   

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