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USA to hand over HIMARS missile systems to Ukraine - senior official in Biden administration

This system is crucial for countering russia's missile attacks.

USA to hand over HIMARS missile systems to Ukraine - senior official in Biden administration
Photo: EPA/UPG

The new weapons that Ukraine will receive from the United States will include the M142 HIMARS [high-mobility artillery rocket system], - reported by reuters.com with reference to a senior representative of the US presidential administration Joe Biden.

According to the commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, this system is crucial for counteracting russia's missile attacks.

"Addressing concerns that such weapons could draw the United States into a direct conflict with russia, senior administration officials said Ukraine gave assurances the missiles would not be used to strike inside russia," the statement said.

"These systems will be used by the Ukrainians to repel russian advances on Ukrainian territory, but they will not be used on targets in russian territory," the official told reporters.

US President Joe Biden wrote in a column for nytimes.com that the Americans will provide Ukrainians with more advanced missile systems and ammunition that will allow them to more accurately hit key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.

For his part, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States would take all necessary steps in the coming days to declare and send new weapons to Ukraine as part of a large-scale package of support approved by Congress and approved by the president.

An expert on international relations, former US Ambassador to russia Michael McFaul said that the United States would still give Ukraine long-range multiple rocket launchers, but they would not be able to shoot deep into russia.

Note that the range of missiles fired from standard MLRS, which Ukraine expects to receive, is 43 miles, or almost 70 km. At the same time, the range of even these systems is almost twice more than the range of Ukrainian firepower. Thus, the Armed Forces of Ukraine now use M777 howitzers from the United States, which have a range of about 28 miles.

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