US, Germany to supply advanced weapons to Ukraine
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Each country pledges its share of anti-aircraft missiles and medium-range rocket systems and yet claims it is not after igniting a wider European war.
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US and Germany to supply advanced weapons to Ukraine
As Russian forces moved in on taking a key city in the east, the US and Germany pledged Wednesday to provide Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long coveted for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery.
Germany stated that it will give Ukraine modern anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, while the United States announced that it will provide four powerful medium-range rocket systems and ammo.
The US continues to pour weapons into Ukraine and at the same time claims it does not seek igniting a wider European war. The Pentagon stated that it has obtained guarantees from Ukraine that the new rockets will not be launched into Russian territory. On its part, the Kremlin accused the US of “pouring fuel on the fire.”
As the war in Ukraine rages on, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to ask for more and better armaments, accusing the West of moving too slowly.
A new wave of Western weapons
The head of the Ukrainian president's office, Andriy Yermak, praised the new Western armaments. “I’m sure that if we receive all the necessary weapons and strengthen the efficient sanctions regime we will win,” he said.
Read next: Experts warn arms for Ukraine could have disastrous consequences
“The NATO countries — the European nations and the Americans — have progressively escalated the means that they are putting at Ukraine’s disposal, and this escalation, in my opinion, has had the aim of testing Russian limits,” retired French General Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France's military mission at the United Nations, said. “Each time, they measure the Russian reaction, and since there is no reaction, they keep supplying increasingly effective and sophisticated weaponry.”
US rocket systems
The rocket systems are part of a new $700 million security support package from the United States for Ukraine, which also includes helicopters, Javelin anti-tank missile systems, radars, tactical vehicles, spare parts, and other items.
The rockets are highly mobile and have a range of roughly 50 miles (80 kilometers). Ukraine had attempted but failed to obtain missiles with a range of up to 186 miles (300 kilometers).
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not trust assurances that Ukraine will not fire on Russian territory. “We believe that the US is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire,” he said.
Read next: Russia cautions West against "mindlessly pumping weapons" into Ukraine
General Mikhail Mizintzev went on to accuse Ukraine of plotting to launch US-supplied missiles from the northeastern Sumy region at Russian border areas.
Ukraine's drive for more armaments, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, is a "direct provocation intended to draw the West into the fighting." He warned that the presence of several rocket launchers increased the likelihood of a wider battle. “Sane Western politicians understand those risks well."
IRIS-T air defense
The supply of IRIS-T air defense systems by Germany would be the first delivery of long-range air weapons to Ukraine since the start of the war.
Earlier deployments of portable, shoulder-fired air defense missiles boosted the Ukrainian military's capacity to take down helicopters and other low-flying aircraft, but not by far enough to challenge Russia's air superiority.
Germany has been under particular fire for not doing more, both at home and from friends abroad. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told parliamentarians that the IRIS-surface-to-air T's missiles are the country's most advanced air defense system.
“With this, we will enable Ukraine to defend an entire city from Russian air attacks,” he said. The radar systems will also come in handy for the Ukrainians.
