OPEN LETTER/ Come to the dialogue and listen to me speak, otherwise I will cut off your scholarships, you will rot in prison. Please!

 Kliko këtu për të tjera
Voxpress:

Why is the US sending some weapons systems to Ukraine, but not the ones Zelensky wants?

2022-10-13 19:59:54Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Why is the US sending some weapons systems to Ukraine, but not the ones Zelensky
Why is the US sending some weapons systems to Ukraine, but not the ones Zelensky wants?

Ukrainian leaders are asking the US and Western allies for air defense systems and longer-range weapons to continue their counteroffensive against Russia and counter Moscow's intensified attacks.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says allies are committed to sending weapons "as fast as it's physically possible to get them there". However, there are a number of high-profile, advanced weapons that Ukraine wants but the US will not deliver.

Defense analysts cite political sensitivities, secret technology or limited stockpiles as reasons for this.

WHAT WEAPONS WILL BE SENT TO UKRAINE

In a meeting with about 50 defense leaders this week, Secretary Austin and General Mark Milley, the US chief of staff, discussed plans to send more air defense weapons and also to increase training of Ukrainian troops.

"We know that Ukraine still needs more long-range weapons, and air defense systems and artillery systems along with other essential capabilities," Secretary Austin said Wednesday.

The United States has deployed 20 Advanced Artillery Missile Systems, or HIMARS, and has promised 18 more.

The Pentagon has said it will deliver the first two advanced NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems to Ukraine in the coming weeks, providing Kiev with a weapon it has been clamoring for since the beginning of this year.

The systems will provide medium- and long-range defense against Russian missile attacks.

Germany is now delivering its first IRIS-T surface-to-air missile system, which has a range of about 40 kilometers. Berlin has pledged to send four such systems in total.

Overall, the US has sent $16.8 billion worth of weapons and other aid to Ukraine since the war began on February 24. This aid has included hundreds of armored vehicles, 142 "Howitzers" and 880,000 rounds of ammunition for them, plus thousands of "Javelin" anti-tank guns, "Stinger" anti-aircraft guns and 60 million rounds of ammunition.

WHAT WEAPONS THE UNITED STATES WILL NOT SEND

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly made it clear that his country needs more advanced weapons to continue the war.

Russia launched a barrage of attacks using drones, heavy artillery and missiles this week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the strikes in response to an explosion last weekend on the bridge linking Russia with the occupied Crimean peninsula. The Russians are also trying to beat off a fierce counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces, which have just retaken five towns and villages in the southern Kherson region.

The Kherson region was illegally annexed by Russia along with the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region and the eastern regions, Donetsk and Luhansk.

President Zelensky's requests for some types of weaponry, however, have so far gone unanswered.

The main request concerns the Army's Tactical Missile System. Known as ATACMS, this system is one of the weapons that Mr. Zelenskyy has repeatedly sought. This would give Ukraine the ability to strike Russian targets up to about 300 kilometers away.

The system uses the same launcher as the HIMARS missiles that Kiev successfully used in the offensive launched in September, but the ATACMS has three times the range of the HIMARS.

A major U.S. concern is that the longer-range capability could be used against targets inside Russia and further provoke Russian leader Putin, said Brad Bowman, director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Defense Foundation. Democracy, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington.

For similar reasons, the US is unlikely to send Ukraine the highly sophisticated Patriot surface-to-air missile system, which has the ability to shoot down ballistic missiles.

JD Williams, a defense researcher at the Rand Corp institute, said the Patriots are connected to some of the United States' most sensitive command and control networks and could require US troops on the ground to intercept them. operated them. The Biden administration has ruled out the possibility of using US combat forces inside Ukraine.

The US has a limited number of these systems.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has also asked the United States since March to provide fighter jets such as the F-16, but the US has repeatedly rejected the idea to avoid further escalation with Russia.

The United States has also so far refused to send Ukraine more sophisticated, longer-range drones, such as the Gray Eagle, which would also give Ukraine longer-range strike capabilities. There are also concerns about Russia learning this advanced technology if one of the drones were to be shot down and captured by the Russians.


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

Video

SHIKO KANALIN NE YOUTUBE
×