Russia-Ukraine War: The Russian invasion of Ukraine has entered Day 102.
London:
Britain said Monday it will mirror the United States and send long-range missile systems to Ukraine, in defiance of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warnings against supplying advanced weapons to Kiev.
The British Ministry of Defense said London had coordinated closely with Washington over the gift of the multiple-launch missile systems, known as MLRS, to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression.
The M270 launchers, which can hit targets up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) away with precision-guided missiles, will “provide a significant boost in capability to the Ukrainian armed forces,” the ministry added.
The US announced last week that it would give Kiev its highly mobile artillery missile system known as HIMARS, which can launch multiple precision-guided missiles simultaneously and is superior in range and precision to existing systems that Ukraine has.
However, US President Joe Biden has ruled out providing it with systems that could even reach Russia, despite Kiev’s repeated requests for them.
Despite this, the US action warned Putin warned on Sunday that Moscow will hit new unspecified “targets” if the West delivers the missiles to Ukraine and said new arms deliveries to Kiev were aimed at “prolonging the conflict”.
But during the unveiling of Britain’s latest contribution, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace urged Ukraine’s western allies to maintain their arms supplies to enable it to win its war that repels the invading Russian forces.
“The UK stands with Ukraine in this struggle and is taking a leading role in providing its heroic forces with the vital weapons they need to defend their country against an unprovoked invasion,” he said in a statement.
“As Russian tactics change, so must our support for Ukraine. These highly capable multi-launch missile systems will enable our Ukrainian friends to better protect themselves from the brutal use of long-range artillery, which Putin’s forces have used indiscriminately to to flatten cities.”
Ukrainian troops will be trained in the use of the launchers in the UK so they can “maximize the effectiveness of the systems,” the British Ministry of Defense said.
London has so far offered over 750 million pounds ($937 million, 874 million euros) in military aid to Ukraine, including sending air defense systems, thousands of anti-tank missiles and various ammunition, hundreds of armored vehicles and other equipment.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
