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| U.S. Marine Corps/Cpl. Austin Fraley/Handout via REUTERS |
As the United States and its allies provide Ukraine with increasingly sophisticated arms, Washington has held discussions with Kyiv about the danger of escalation if it strikes deep inside Russia, U.S. and diplomatic officials tell Reuters.
The behind-the-scenes discussions, which are highly sensitive and have not been previously reported, do not put explicit geographic restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukrainian forces. But the conversations have sought to reach a shared understanding of the risk of escalation, three U.S. officials and diplomatic sources said.
"We have concerns about escalation and yet still do not want to put geographic limits or tie their hands too much with the stuff we're giving them," said one of the three U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
President Joe Biden's administration and U.S. allies have been increasingly willing to give Ukraine longer-range weaponry, including M777 howitzers, as Kyiv battles Russia's invasion forces with more success than American intelligence officials had predicted. The Pentagon's announcement last week that Denmark will provide Ukraine with Harpoon anti-ship missiles would further extend Kyiv's reach. --->READ MORE HERE
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| Photo: U.S. Air Force |
Mobile artillery launchers expected to arrive within weeks, would enable Ukraine to strike Russian batteries in Donbas
The Biden administration is expected to announce as early as next week it will send to Ukraine long-range rocket systems Kyiv says are necessary to fight off the Russian onslaught in the Donbas region, U.S. officials said Friday.
Among the weapons the U.S. is expected to provide are Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, or MLRS, which are mobile artillery launchers that can fire dozens of miles farther than any current system in Ukraine’s control.
The U.S. 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 MLRS, which moves on tracks, the Himars move on a wheeled chassis.
Both systems would give Ukraine more mobility than M777 howitzers, which the U.S. is still sending to Ukraine. It is unclear how many of the new systems the U.S. would provide, but one official said they could arrive in Ukraine within weeks. The U.S. also has said Ukraine forces would need at least a week of training to use them.
Meanwhile, on Friday Russian forces made fresh gains in fierce fighting in the Donbas region and were battling Ukrainian troops in the streets of Severodonetsk. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
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