US to send advanced rocket systems to Ukraine

Mobile artillery launchers expected to arrive within weeks, would enable Kyiv to strike Russian batteries in Donbas.

The US is expected to give High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or Himars, to Ukraine. PIcture: US Air Force

The Biden administration is expected to announce as early as this week it will send to Ukraine long-range rocket systems Kyiv says are necessary to fight off the Russian onslaught in the Donbas region.

Among the weapons the US is expected to provide are Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, or MLRS, which are mobile artillery launchers that can fire dozens of kilometres farther than any current system in Ukraine’s control.

The US is also expected to give to Ukraine High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as Himars. Those are light multiple rocket launchers with a comparable range to the MLRS, but unlike the latter, which move on tracks, the Himars move on a wheeled chassis.

Both systems would give Ukraine more mobility than M777 howitzers, which the US is still sending to Ukraine. It is unclear how many of the new systems the US would provide, but one official said at the weekend they could arrive in Ukraine within weeks.

The US also has said Ukraine forces would need at least a week of training to use them.

Moscow has an advantage in firepower, and Ukrainian officials have said they need MLRS batteries to hold ground in Donbas.

Ukrainian forces operate ­Soviet-designed Smerch and Uragan long-range multiple-launch systems, but they are running critically low on ammunition, Ukrainian officials say.

Ukraine has already deployed more than 100 155mm howitzers supplied by the US and allies, but those guns aren’t sufficient by themselves to offset the enormous firepower that Russia’s military has concentrated in Donbas, Ukrainian commanders say.

In a tweet on Friday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba suggested new weapons were en route. “Heavy weapons on top of our agenda, and more are coming our way,” he said following a discussion with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The Kremlin didn’t immediately react to the reports of the new weapons. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week the West had already delivered a lot of weapons to Ukraine and Moscow was carefully monitoring supplies.

“You know that a lot of weapons are coming to Ukraine from the West,” he said in comments carried by Russian state media.

“You know very well what we think about this. There is nothing new here. Our military is monitoring all these shipments very carefully.”

A senior Ukrainian defence official said Kyiv expected to receive the MLRS “soon”.

The Zelensky government has been lobbying the US for the system for several weeks, arguing that it would make the difference in Ukraine’s embattled eastern region, particularly since Russian air power remains superior.

Ukraine could use MLRS and Himars to target Russian artillery batteries in the Donbas region, where the conflict has intensified in recent weeks and has been dominated by exchange of artillery fire.

The Ukrainian official said the US had been reluctant to provide the advanced missile systems in part due to concern it would further provoke Russia to retaliate against American or its NATO allies. US officials have also said they feared that sending such systems would be seen as escalation by Russia.

Since Russia’s February 24 invasion, the US has sent more sophisticated weapons systems, starting with Stinger and Javelin hand-held missiles, and culminating in the recent provision of M777 Howitzers and, soon, the missile systems.

“The way we have helped Ukraine defend itself has changed over time as the fight has changed over time,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at the weekend.

Mr Kirby said no decisions had been made. “We are still working through what the next drawdown will look like,” he said.

The Wall Street Journal