Monitoring Desk
KYIV: Western allied countries have pledged precision missile systems and rockets to Ukraine on Friday after President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed for sophisticated weapons to help regain control of the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut.
The European Union (EU) agreed to introduce price caps on Russian petroleum products to limit the war chest of Russian President Vladimir Putin by targeting his key exports.
The announcements came shortly after Volodymyr Zelensky told a meeting with EU leaders in Kyiv: “No one will surrender Bakhmut city. We will fight for our sovereignty as long as we can.
“If deliveries of weapons are accelerated — long-range weapons — we will not only not withdraw from Bakhmut city, we will begin to de-occupy Donbas,” he said.
The United States (US) on Friday announced a new $2.2-billion aid package of munitions and arms, which the Pentagon said also included a new rocket-propelled precision bomb that will nearly double the strike range of Kyiv against Russian forces.
The GLSDB, which can fly up to 93 miles (150 kilometers), could threaten key Russian supply lines, air bases, and arms depots far behind the front lines.
Western nations continue arms supply
They potentially give Ukrainian forces the ability to strike anywhere in the Russian-occupied Kherson, Donbas, and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as the northern part of occupied Crimea.
However, “the GLSDB’s delivery likely would not be for several months due to contracting, delivery timelines, and production,” said Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Garron Garn, declining to say how many GLSDBs would be delivered.
Italy and France will deliver mobile surface-to-air missile systems, defence ministry of France said, in response to an urgent request from Ukraine to help protect infrastructure and civilian populations from Russian air attacks.
The systems, called SAMP or MAMBA, are vehicle-mounted batteries of medium-range missiles. The systems are designed to offer protection from airborne threats such as manned or unmanned aircraft and missiles.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov tweeted his gratitude and said the systems would “help us protect thousands of lives” from Russian attacks. Ukraine is also asking for fighter jets.
It had already secured promises from the Western allies for deliveries of modern battle tanks, and after months of hesitation, Germany authorized the supply of Leopard 1 tanks.
