The United States says it will provide Ukraine with further military assistance costing $2.2 billion. The aid consists of long-range missiles that can double their striking range.
Since February 2022, Ukraine has received more than $29.3 billion in military aid.
Ground-launched small-diameter bombs (GLSDB), which may reach targets 150 km (93 miles) away, are part of the package.
Officials, however, declined to comment on rumors that the weapons may be used to launch attacks on areas of Crimea that had been annexed.
According to Pentagon spokesperson Brig Gen Pat Ryder, “When it comes to Ukrainian plans on operations, clearly that is their decision.”
“This gives them a longer-range capability, long-range fire capability, that will enable them, again, to conduct operations in defense of their country and take back their sovereign territory, Russian-occupied areas.”
Russia, in 2014, had illegitimately acquired the Crimean Peninsula and claims to be part of its own territory. But in recent months, it has occasionally come under fire from Ukrainian soldiers.
Western countries have repeatedly rejected giving Ukraine offensive weapons, such as fighter jets, that it may use to launch an attack against Russia.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked President Joe Biden and the United States for the further assistance in a tweet.
Thank you @POTUS for the new $2.2 billion defense aid package. It's important to strengthen the 🇺🇦 Defense Forces. Together with 🇺🇸 we stand against terror! The more long-range our weapons are and the more mobile our troops are the sooner Russia's brutal aggression will end.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 3, 2023
He wrote,”The more long-range our weapons are and the more mobile our troops are, the sooner Russia’s brutal aggression will end. Together with [the US] we stand against terror.”
Previously, the Himars rocket system, which can reach targets at a distance of up to 80 kilometers, was Ukraine’s most powerful weapon. When launching its counteroffensive in the south and east last year, Ukraine deployed the technique to deadly effect.
Additionally, the GLSDB enables Ukraine’s military the ability to launch attacks anywhere in the Russian-occupied Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donbas regions. It also enables Ukraine to put supply routes for Russia in the east under jeopardy.
GLSDB, a gliding rocket with a tiny bomb attached and capable of striking a target within one meter of its position, is made by Boeing and Saab.
Additionally, it may be launched from many other weapon systems, including the Himars and M270 MLRS systems now in service in Ukraine. Although some reports indicate that it could take up to nine months for the system to reach Ukraine, neither the Pentagon nor Boeing would comment on delivery times.
The new deal, which will also include more Himars missiles and 250 Javelin anti-armour systems, comes as concerns about how slowly Western countries have been supplying Ukraine with new military help have grown.
US House of Representatives Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers in a tweet, said, “GLSDB should have been approved last fall. Every day it’s not approved is a day it’s delayed getting it into the hands of a Ukrainian ready to kill a Russian.”
A Russian offensive in the eastern Donbas region has reportedly received a boost in recent days, according to sources. Kremlin-friendly blogs have claimed that the town of Bakhmut, which has long served as a focal point of Russian attacks, has been encircled from three sides.
However, according to President Zelenskyy, his men were positioned all around the town and would not submit to Russian attacks.
The Ukrainian President declared, “We regard Bakhmut as our castle. We will start to de-occupy Donbas, which has been occupied since 2014, if weapons [deliveries] are accelerated, specifically long-range weapons.”
Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister, claimed earlier this week that Russia had mobilized over 500,000 troops for the next attack. Zelensky had claimed that a long-rumored Russian spring operation in the area had already begun.
The President of Ukraine has been meeting in Kyiv with the leaders of the bloc, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Council, Charles Michel, to discuss resuming EU accession negotiations.
The leaders “understood that it is conceivable to start negotiations on Ukraine’s membership in the European Union this year,” according to Zelenskyy, who spoke after the conference.
Germany has made announcements regarding considering providing Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine. It has already vowed to provide the older Leopard 2s type, which can be delivered to Ukraine earlier than the more recent variant.
