HIMARS and M777: US wants to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons, but is afraid of escalation due to strikes on the Russian Federation
Reuters, citing US officials and diplomatic circles, writes that the US and Ukraine are discussing the danger of escalation as new weapons expand Kyiv's reach.
What does it mean?
The Joe Biden administration and US allies are increasingly willing to provide Ukraine with longer-range weapons, including M777 howitzers. In addition, Ukraine can receive highly mobile artillery rocket systems M142 (HIMARS), the range of which, depending on the ammunition, can be hundreds of kilometers.
Therefore, America fears that with the help of these weapons, Ukraine can strike deep into the territory of the Russian Federation, which will lead to an escalation. The behind-the-scenes discussions, which are highly sensitive and have not been previously reported, place no clear geographical restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukrainian forces. But the conversations were aimed at reaching a common understanding of the risk of escalation, three U.S. officials and diplomatic sources said.
"We're concerned about the escalation, but still don't want to place geographic restrictions or tie their hands too much with what we're giving them," one of the three U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
US intelligence warns of growing risks and that the war could take a "more unpredictable and potentially escalatory trajectory" in the coming months.
A second US official said that Washington and Kyiv have a common "understanding" regarding the use of certain Western weapons systems.
As usual, after this report, Russia resorted to intimidation: Foreign Minister Lavrov warned the West that the supply of weapons to Ukraine capable of hitting Russian territory would be "a serious step towards an unacceptable escalation."
Source: Reuters
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