Britain sends long-range missile launcher to Ukraine

Britain is planning to provide Ukraine with a long-range missile system, despite explicit warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The move is being done in coordination with the United States, the British government said.

Britain has announced the delivery of a missile system to Ukraine, despite warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin about the consequences of military support for the country.

The British Ministry of Defense announced on Monday (June 6) that it would provide Ukraine with the M270 long-range missile system, which is manufactured in the United States. British officials said the move was being done in coordination with the US government.

On Sunday, the Russian president warned Western countries to refrain from sending long-range missiles to Ukraine.

Russian media quoted Putin as saying: "Otherwise, we will react and use our weapons to attack targets that we have not attacked so far."

Despite these warnings, the British Ministry of Defense announced the delivery of the M270 system, stating that this move would "significantly strengthen" the Ukrainian army.

The missile system is capable of hitting targets up to 80 kilometers away with precision missiles. Britain also plans to train Ukrainian soldiers in the use of sophisticated weapons.

The United States also announced last week that it plans to send its mobile missile system, the "Himars", to Ukraine.

This system is far better and more accurate than the weapons systems that the Ukrainian military currently has, both in terms of range and accuracy.

According to military experts, the range of the missile system now available to the Ukrainian army is slightly greater than that of similar systems used by the Russian army. This allows Ukrainian forces to target enemy artillery without being targeted themselves.

Ukraine had asked Washington to provide Kiev with missile systems with a much longer range, but US President Joe Biden opposed this request.

Vladimir Putin had warned that sending weapons from Western countries to Ukraine would only prolong the conflict in the country.

Despite these warnings, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace agreed to continue sending weapons to Ukraine so that the country “can win the war with Russia.”

He added: "Britain stands with Ukraine in this fight and is playing a key role in strengthening its courageous military forces with the decisive weapons they need to defend their country against this invasion."

The British Defense Secretary added: "As Russia's tactics change, so must our support for Ukraine." The missile system now being sent to Ukraine, he said, is intended to improve Ukrainian protection against artillery attacks by the Russian army.

The British government has so far provided Ukraine with £750 million (€874 million) in military aid, including air defence systems, thousands of anti-tank missiles and hundreds of armoured vehicles.

Source: DW