Russia-Ukraine War: Revealing the source of Ukraine’s frustration with the US

According to RT, Politico newspaper cited three unnamed US officials as saying that, although Kiev has been asking Washington to transfer the US-made Long-Range Multiple Launch Missile System (MLRS) for months now, the White House is still hesitant. undecided, fearing that the move could anger the Kremlin, further escalating the conflict in Ukraine.

A US member of Congress told Politico that “motivation” in the MLRS talks “seems to have cooled”, and as a result “disappointment has flared up” in Kiev.

Another Biden administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Politico that Washington and Kiev are in “active discussions” about the MLRS, but that not all of the weapons Ukraine has requested can be delivered quickly. .

An unnamed US official continued to explain that, the White House currently believes it is more profitable to send 90 M777 howitzers to Ukraine than to provide MLRS because with the same amount of money allocated, they can send many M777 howitzers to Ukraine. Ukraine rather than MLRS.

Politico noted that Washington did not provide Kiev with artillery systems with a longer range and greater destructive power because these weapons systems could allow the Ukrainian military to attack targets inside Russia. Washington fears this risks drawing the US deeper into the conflict and even being viewed by Russia as a target of retaliation.

President Volodymyr Zelensky listed the M142 HIMARS and M270 MLRS multiple launch rocket systems among the weapons his country most needed.

The M270 MLRS has a range of up to 70 km and a maximum of more than 165 km if more advanced missiles are used. More modern HIMARS can hit targets 300 to 500 km away.