[ad_1]
The United States will send four more High Mobility Artillery systems (HIMARS) to Ukraine, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced on July 20.
He made this announcement after the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said that the “tasks” of Moscow’s army in Ukraine go beyond the eastern region of Donbass.
Austin told reporters at the Pentagon that Ukraine is making excellent use of the HIMARS that the US has sent so far, and the impact of these systems can be seen on the battlefield.
“Russia is continuing its relentless bombing and this is a cruel tactic reminiscent of the horrors of the First World War. So Ukraine needs the firepower and ammunition to withstand this barrage and to respond,” he said.
HIMRARS are long-range systems and are more accurate than the Soviet-era artillery that Ukraine has in its arsenal. Ukrainian officials have stated that the use of these US-made systems has been essential to repel Russian forces and attack their lines of defense.
On July 19, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said he has asked Washington to send more HIMARS systems, arguing that Kiev forces, using these systems, managed to destroy about 30 Russian command posts and ammunition depots.
The four additional HIMARS systems bring to 16 the number of such systems that the US has sent to Ukraine. Austin said the new weapons package will also include ammunition for the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), a weapon that can hit targets up to 80 kilometers away.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the US has provided Ukraine with $8 billion worth of security assistance./Rel
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link
