Britain said Monday it will mirror the United States and send long-range missile systems to Ukraine, defying warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin against supplying Kiev with advanced weapons.
London coordinated closely with Washington over its gift of the multiple-launch rocket systems, known as MLRS, according to the United Kingdom’s defense ministry.
The M270 launchers, which can strike targets up to 50 miles away with precision-guided rockets, will “offer a significant boost in capability for the Ukrainian forces,” the ministry noted.
Last week the US announced it would give Kiev its high mobility artillery rocket system, known as HIMARS, which can simultaneously launch multiple precision-guided missiles and is superior in range and precision to existing systems Ukraine has.
However, US President Joe Biden ruled out supplying it with systems that could reach as far as Russia, despite Kiev’s repeated demands for them.
Despite that, the US move prompted Putin to warn Sunday that Moscow will strike new unspecified “targets” if the West supplies the missiles to Ukraine and said new arms deliveries to Kiev were aimed at “prolonging the conflict.”
But unveiling the latest UK contribution, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace insisted Ukraine’s Western allies must maintain their weapons deliveries to enable it to “win” its war by repelling invading Russian forces.
“The UK stands with Ukraine in this fight and is taking a leading role in supplying its heroic troops with the vital weapons they need to defend their country from unprovoked invasion,” Wallace said in a statement.
Ukrainian troops will be trained on how to use the launchers in the UK, so they can “maximize the effectiveness of the systems,” Britain’s defense ministry said.
London has offered more than $937 million in military support to Ukraine, including sending air defense systems, thousands of anti-tank missiles and various types of munitions, hundreds of armored vehicles, and other equipment.
Source: Agencies (edited by Al-Manar English Website)
