Biden confirms US is sending medium-range Multiple Launch Rocket Systems to Ukraine
US President Joe Biden confirmed Tuesday that Washington is sending medium-range Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) to Ukraine. The move comes in response to repeated requests from Kyiv that the West supply such weapons.
The weapons can hit targets at a longer range than the weapons Ukraine currently has. The specific model that will be supplied is the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which can hit targets from a distance of approximately 50 miles.
Biden stated the weapons will enable Ukrainian forces “to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield.”
Washington and London had been hesitant to provide such weapons systems to Kyiv, as they would potentially enable Ukrainian forces to strike targets inside Russia. It was thought that such actions could possibly escalate the war.
Washington’s announcement elicited an angry response from Moscow on Wednesday, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating, “We believe that the United States is deliberately and diligently ‘pouring fuel on the fire… Such deliveries do not contribute to … the Ukrainian leadership’s willingness to resume peace talks.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian state media that Washington’s military support for Ukraine is “unprecedented” and “dangerous.”
Ukrainian officials have assured the US that the weapons would not be used to strike targets inside Russia.
“America’s goal is straightforward: We want to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression,” Biden wrote in an essay published Tuesday evening in the New York Times. “We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia.”