The United States will provide four more precision rocket systems to Ukraine to help it fight Russia’s invasion, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday.
His Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksiy Reznikov, had called on Tuesday for Washington to send more M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (Himars), claiming that thanks to them, kyiv forces were able to destroy some 30 Russian command centers and ammunition depots up to the moment.
Washington will send “four more Himars advanced rocket systems to total 16 (those delivered). The Ukrainians have made excellent use of the Himars, and you can see the impact on the battlefield,” Austin told reporters at the Pentagon.
“Russia continues its relentless bombardment, and that is a cruel tactic that dates back to the horrors of the First World War. Therefore, Ukraine needs the firepower and ammunition to resist this shelling and fight back,” she justified.
The United States will also send additional GMLRS munitions, which can accurately engage targets up to 80 kilometers away.
As Reznikov had requested in a video conference with a think tank in Washington, at least 100 such systems are needed to defend the vast expanse of Ukraine and launch an effective counteroffensive against Moscow’s troops.
Reznikov also renewed an order for ammunition with a longer range, from 100 to 150 kilometers, to cut off Russian units from their logistical support.
The United States has refused to send longer-range munitions out of fear that Ukraine will strike targets inside Russian territory and potentially expand the war into direct confrontation with the West. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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