US to provide longer-range weapons, air defence system
After months of agonising, the US has agreed to send longer-range weapons to Ukraine as it prepares to launch a spring offensive to retake territory Russia captured last year, US officials said yesterday, confirming that the new weapons will have roughly double the range of any other offensive weapon provided by America.
The US will provide groundlaunched small diameter bombs as part of a US$2.17 billion (NZ$3.3b) aid package it is expected to announce today, several US officials said. The package also for the first time includes equipment to connect all the different air defence systems Western allies have rushed to the battlefield and integrate them into Ukraine’s own air defences, to help it better defend against Russia’s missile attacks.
For months, US officials 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 defence system, that the US has eventually agreed to provide Ukraine after initially saying no. US officials, though, have continued to reject Ukraine’s requests for fighter jets.
Ukrainian leaders have urgently pressed for longer-range munitions, and yesterday officials said the US will send an undisclosed number of the ground-launched, small diameter bombs, which have a range of about 150km. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the aid package not yet made public.
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 wasn’t clear yesterday how long it will take to get the bomb to the battlefield in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said yesterday the country was prepared to offer guarantees to its Western partners that their weapons
won’t 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 defence 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.’’
The US aid package includes US$425 million in ammunition and support equipment that will be pulled from existing Pentagon stockpiles and US$1.75b in new funding through the Ukraine
Security Assistance Initiative, which is used to purchase new weapons from industry.
The assistance initiative, which will pay for the longerrange bombs and the air defence system integration, also funds two HAWK air defence systems, anti-aircraft guns and ammunition, and counter-drone systems.
Since Russia’s invasion last February, Western allies have pledged myriad air defence systems to Ukraine to bolster its own Soviet-made S-300 surface-toair missile defence systems, and the latest aid 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 mediumto long-range National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS, and truck-launched short-range Avenger air defence systems; the Netherlands, Germany and the US are sending Patriot missile defence systems; Germany is sending mediumrange IRIS-T air defence systems; and Spain is sending Aspide antiaircraft air defence systems.
The addition of longer-range bombs to the latest aid package was first reported by Reuters.
Ukraine is still seeking F-16 fighter jets, which US President Joe Biden has opposed sending since the beginning of the war. Asked on Tuesday if his Administration was considering sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Biden responded, ‘‘No.’’
‘‘If we could strike at a distance of up to 300km, the Russian army wouldn’t be able to mount a defence and will have to withdraw.’’ Oleksii Reznikov Ukraine defence minister