UK To Defy Putin’s Warnings And Send US-made M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems To Ukraine

The UK is reportedly poised to send advanced, medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine within weeks.

Boris Johnson is seeking approval from US President Joe Biden for the supply of the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) capable of striking targets roughly 50 miles (80km) away, after Mr Biden confirmed that America would also be sending similar weapons.

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The outlet reports that Mr Johnson and Mr Biden discussed the issue on Wednesday morning, with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss expected to speak to the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on Thursday.

Earlier this week Mr Johnson called for MLRS systems to be sent to enable Ukrainians “to defend themselves against this very brutal Russian artillery, and that’s where the world needs to go.” The UK has 42 MLRS systems.Read Also: NATO Is An ‘Obvious Threat’ To Russia – Putin Says In WWII Parade Speech
Ukrainian officials have been asking allies for longer-range weapons capable of firing a barrage of rockets hundreds of miles away, but this week Mr Biden said: “We’re not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that strike into Russia.”

Experts fear that the use of Western-supplied weapons to strike inside Russia could draw the Kremlin into an open conflict with Nato states.

But writing for The New York Times on Tuesday, Mr Biden said he had decided to “provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine”.

He added: “We do not seek a war between Nato and Russia. As much as I disagree with Mr Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow.

“So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces. We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia.”

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded: “We believe that the United States is adding fuel to the fire deliberately and on purpose. The US is obviously holding the line that it will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian.”

Speaking to US network Newsmax, US leader Volodymyr Zelensky said: “We’re not interested in what is happening in Russia, we’re only interested in our own territory in Ukraine.”

Photo Credit: Getty 

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