After months of deliberation, the US has agreed to send longer-range missiles to Ukraine as it prepares to launch a spring offensive to retake territory Russia captured last year, US officials said on Thursday, confirming that the weapons would have about double the range of any other offensive weapon provided previously.
The US is to provide ground-launched small diameter bombs as part of a US$2.17 billion aid package, several US officials said on condition of anonymity.
The package also for the first time includes equipment to connect all the different air defense systems Western allies have rushed to the battlefield, and integrate them into Ukraine’s own air defenses to help it better defend against Russia’s missile attacks.
Photo: AP
US officials for months have hesitated to send longer-range systems to Ukraine out of concern that they would be used to target inside Russia, escalating the conflict and drawing the US deeper in.
The longer-range bombs are the latest advanced system, such as Abrams tanks and the Patriot missile defense system, that the US has agreed to provide Ukraine after initially saying no.
However, Ukraine’s requests for fighter jets continue to be rejected by the US.
Ukrainian leaders have pressed for longer-range munitions, and on Thursday officials said the US agreed to send an undisclosed number of the ground-launched, small diameter bombs, which have a range of about 150km.
To date, the longest-range missile provided by the US is about 80km. The funding in the aid package is for longer-term purchases, so it is unknown how long they will take to arrive at battlefields in Ukraine.
Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov on Thursday said the country is prepared to offer guarantees to its Western partners that their weapons would not be used to strike inside Russian territory, adding that Kyiv needs weapons with a range of up to 300km to expel the Russian forces.
“If we could strike at a distance of up to 300km, the Russian army wouldn’t be able to mount a defense and will have to withdraw,” Reznikov said at a meeting with EU officials.
“Ukraine is ready to provide any guarantees that your weapons will not be involved in attacks on the Russian territory. We have enough targets in the occupied areas of Ukraine, and we’re prepared to coordinate on [these] targets with our partners,” Reznikov said.
The US aid package includes US$425 million in ammunition and support equipment that can be pulled from existing Pentagon stockpiles, and US$1.75 billion in new funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is used to purchase new weapons from industry.
The assistance initiative, which is to pay for the longer-range bombs and air defense integration, also funds two HAWK air defense systems, anti-aircraft guns and ammunition, and counter-drone systems.
Since Russia’s invasion nearly one year ago, Western allies have pledged myriad air defense systems to Ukraine to bolster its own Soviet-made S-300 surface-to-air missile defense systems, and the latest package aims to provide the capability to integrate them all, which could improve Ukraine’s ability to protect itself against incoming Russian attacks.
The US has pledged medium to long-range National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and truck-launched short-range Avenger air defense systems; the Netherlands, Germany and the US are sending Patriot missile defense systems; Germany is sending medium-range IRIS-T air defense systems; and Spain is sending Aspide anti-aircraft air defense systems.
Ukraine is still seeking F-16 jets, which US President Joe Biden has opposed sending since the beginning of the war.
Asked on Monday if his administration was considering sending F-16 jets to Ukraine, Biden responded, “No.”
“All types of help first passed through the ‘no’ stage,” Reznikov said. “Which only means ‘no’ at today’s given moment.”
Philippine vlogger Rosanel Demasudlay holds a heart-shaped “virginity soap” bar in front of the camera and assures her hundreds of YouTube followers that it can be safely used to “tighten” their vaginas. The video is part of a barrage of bogus and harmful medical posts on social media platforms where Filipinos rank among the world’s heaviest users. Even before COVID-19 pandemic restrictions confined people to their homes and left them fearful of seeing a doctor, many in the Philippines sought remedies online because they were cheaper and easier to access. During the pandemic, the Agence France-Presse’s (AFP) Fact Check team saw an explosion
BACKING THE APPLICATION: Ankara’s move is expected to enable Helsinki to join the alliance, while the Turkish president is still opposed to backing Sweden’s application Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday ended months of diplomatically charged delays and asked the Turkish parliament to back Finland’s bid to join NATO. A simultaneous decision by fellow holdout Hungary to schedule a Finnish ratification vote for March 27 means the US-led defense alliance would likely grow to 31 nations within a few months. NATO’s expansion into a country with a 1,340km border with Russia would double the length of the bloc’s frontier with its Cold War-era foe. Finland had initially aimed to join together with fellow NATO aspirant Sweden, which is facing a litany of disputes with Turkey that
LEADERS MEET: Australia’s Anthony Albanese met Fiji’s Sitiveni Rabuka to reiterate that the submarines would not carry nuclear weapons, amid unease over the plan A former Australian prime minister yesterday rubbished the country’s landmark nuclear-powered submarine deal, saying that it unnecessarily targeted China and could have “deadly consequences.” Australia on Monday announced that it would buy up to five US submarines in an ambitious effort to bulk up Western muscle in the face of a rising China. With the help of the US and UK, Australia is also embarking on a 30-year plan to build its own fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the deal was the country’s biggest-ever military upgrade, while US President Joe Biden said it would ensure that the
The US and the Philippines plan to announce new sites as soon as possible for an expanded Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which gives the Western power access to military bases in the Southeast Asian country. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr last month granted the US access to four military bases, on top of five existing locations under the 2014 EDCA, amid China’s increasing assertiveness regarding the South China Sea and Taiwan. Speaking at the Basa Air Base in Manila, one of the existing EDCA sites, US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said the defense agreements between the two countries
RSS