U.S. President Joe Biden announced that the United States will provide Ukraine with "advanced missile systems" that will enable it to hit "key targets" in the ongoing battles between its forces and the Russian army, which has been invading the country for more than three months. Biden wrote in the New York Times, "We will supply Ukrainians with more advanced missile systems and ammunition, allowing them to accurately strike key objectives on the battlefield in Ukraine."
The president did not specify exactly which type of missile systems he was referring to, but a senior White House official indicated that it involves HIMARS rocket launchers. The official, speaking to reporters on the condition of anonymity, stated that the Ukrainian army will receive HIMARS and missiles with a range of up to 80 kilometers, thereby ending several days of speculation about the nature of additional advanced weapons that Washington decided to supply Kyiv to counter the Russian invasion.
HIMARS are rocket launchers mounted on light armored vehicles that fire guided, precision-strike missiles. The official clarified that the missiles being sent by the U.S. to Kyiv will have a range of only 80 kilometers, even though the U.S. military has missiles of the same type with ranges of hundreds of kilometers. Washington was keen to supply Kyiv with these short-range missiles to ensure that they would strike targets within Ukraine and not in Russian territory.
The senior White House official stated, "These systems will be used by Ukrainians to repel Russian advances on Ukrainian territory, but they will not be used against Russian territory." Biden had assured reporters on Monday morning that the United States "will not send missile systems to Ukraine that can strike targets inside Russia." It remains unclear how many of these rocket launchers Washington intends to send to Kyiv.
