Joe Biden has announced that the United States will send medium-range missile systems to Ukraine to help its forces as they struggle to halt Russia’s progress in an apparent change of mind.
The US president said Monday that Washington “will not send missile systems to Ukraine that could strike Russia.”
But as Vladimir Putin’s forces advance into the Donbass region, the decision to supply the High-Mobility Artillery Missile System (HIMARS) was made on the condition that Ukraine does not use it to strike across the border.
Live news about Ukraine: Russian nuclear forces conduct exercises
Officials say the systems are part of a new $ 700 million (US $ 556 million) security package for Kyiv from the United States, which will include helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapons systems, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more.
The White House hopes the decision to provide advanced missile systems strikes a balance between wanting to help Ukraine prevent Russian artillery barriers while not providing weapons that could escalate the war.
In a guest essay published in The New York Times, Mr Biden confirmed that he had decided to “provide Ukrainians with more modern missile systems and ammunition that will allow them to hit key battlefield targets in Ukraine more accurately”. .
Any weapons system can fire in Russia if it is close enough to the border.
The aid package, due to be unveiled on Wednesday, will send medium-range missiles that the United States estimates can typically travel about 45 miles.
Senior administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity before the announcement, said Ukrainians had assured US officials they would not launch missiles into Russian territory.
However, they said the systems would give Ukrainian forces more precision in targeting Russian assets in Ukraine.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
4:13 A city under relentless shelling
Read more: Civilians cling to life in key city of Lisichansk as brutal shelling intensifies
It is expected that Ukraine will be able to use missiles in the Eastern Donbass region, where it can transfer Russian artillery and capture Russian positions in cities where fighting is intense, such as Severodonetsk.
Severodonetsk is key to Russia’s efforts to capture Donbass before more Western weapons arrive to bolster Ukraine’s defenses.
The city 90 miles south of the Russian border is the last pocket of land controlled by the Ukrainian government in the Luhansk region of Donbass.
Mr Biden said in an essay in the New York Times: “We do not encourage or allow Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to hurt Russia. “
Image: Residential building badly damaged by Russian bombing in Bakhmut, north of Severodonetsk. Photo: AP
“Any use of nuclear weapons in this conflict … would have serious consequences.”
He also used the essay to allay fears of nuclear attacks while warning the Putin regime.
“I know that many people around the world are concerned about the use of nuclear weapons,” he said.
“Currently, we see no indication that Russia intends to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, although from time to time Russian rhetoric to brandish a nuclear sword is dangerous and extremely irresponsible.
“Let me be clear: any use of nuclear weapons in this conflict of any magnitude would be completely unacceptable to us and to the rest of the world, and would have serious consequences.
Follow the daily podcast of Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker
The missile systems will be part of the Pentagon’s powers of withdrawal, so they will include taking weapons from US inventory and delivering them quickly to Ukraine.
Ukrainian troops will also need training on the new systems, which could take at least a week or two.
HIMARS is mounted on a truck and can carry a container with six missiles.
Although it can launch a medium-range missile, it is also capable of launching a longer-range missile, the Army Tactical Missile System, which has a range of about 190 miles but is not part of the plan.
Since the start of the war in February, the United States and its allies have tried to cross the border by sending weapons to Ukraine to fight Russia, but have stopped providing aid that will inflame Putin and provoke wider conflict. may transfer to other parts of Europe.
Add Comment