Kyiv demands ‘10 times more’ rockets than US is sending

THE United States is considering doubling the number of rocket launchers it is sending to Ukraine, as Kyiv warned it needs far more to blunt Russia’s longrange artillery advantage.

The Pentagon is weighing sending four more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), which can launch multiple, precision-guided rockets that can strike targets more than 40 miles away.

The systems have double the range of the M777 howitzers the US has provided hitherto, and can “take out a significant amount of targets”, according to Mark Milley, the country’s top general.

It comes amid complaints from Ukrainian officials, who say they need many more of the units to stall Russia’s advance in the Donbas region.

Washington has already announced it is sending four HIMARS to the front line, while the UK and Germany have pledged to send three apiece of their own rocket systems.

The Pentagon is considering sending another four, US media reported.

But the numbers fall far short of Kyiv’s request. “We asked for 10 times more,” Oleksandra Ustinova, a Ukrainian MP, told the Politico website.

Ukrainian officials are also urging the US to send longer-range rockets.