CNN: US plans to include multiple-launch rocket systems in new aid package to Ukraine
US President Joe Biden’s administration is preparing to increase the number of weapons supplied to Ukraine as military aid, adding advanced long-range missile systems to the list. This was reported on Thursday, May 26, CNN TV channel, citing sources in the U.S. administration.
It is noted that the increase of the aid package to Kiev may be announced next week. In particular, we are talking about adding such weapons as multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) to the list.
The TV channel notes that Kiev’s representatives are counting on the US MLRS, because they can launch missiles for hundreds of kilometers and are superior in this parameter to any weapons system, which is already in the arsenal of the AFU. This fact, in turn, can “change the rules of the game” in a positive way for Ukraine, the material specifies.
Another weapon that Kiev has requested is a highly mobile artillery rocket system known as HIMARS. It is a lightweight wheeled system that is capable of firing many of the same types of ammunition as the MLRS, and can launch missiles up to 300 km away, the sources added.
Meanwhile, the White House has ignored Kiev’s wish for several weeks amid fears that the Ukrainian side could use the weapon to fire directly at Russian territory.
Officials also said on condition of anonymity that Washington believes a workaround in this situation could be the provision of shorter-range missile systems to Ukraine.
On May 25, the German newspaper Zeit Online quoted its sources as saying that there were informal agreements between NATO countries to abstain from supplying some weapons systems to Ukraine.
By refraining from supplying some weapons systems to Ukraine, NATO countries are trying to strike a balance between military assistance to Kiev and the absence of direct confrontation with Russia.
The law on assistance to Ukraine is beneficial for the United States, as Washington intends to clean up the global arms markets and benefit from it.