Also anti-ship weapons possible
British will send rocket launchers to Ukraine
6/15/2022, 5:56 p.m
Ukraine is struggling with deliveries of heavy weapons from Western allies. Now something could happen. Britain promises to supply multiple rocket launchers. They could also come from the USA and Germany. Their big advantage is the higher range than that of Russian systems.
Britain says it will soon supply Ukraine with multiple rocket launchers to help the country defend itself against Russia. “I think delivery is imminent,” said British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace in Oslo on the sidelines of a meeting of the multinational Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).
Great Britain had already announced the delivery of the multiple rocket launcher system MLRS on June 6th. According to military experts, its range of up to 80 kilometers is slightly greater than that of similar Russian systems. Thus, the Kiev forces could hit enemy artillery without getting within range.
Ukraine, which is currently waging a bitter defensive battle in the Donbass in the east of the country, has repeatedly asked its western allies to supply it with more heavy weapons. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Tuesday that her country had only received “around 10 percent” of the weapons it actually needed.
Denmark and Netherlands want to supply anti-ship weapons
In addition to the MLRS missile launchers, Britain is also considering the delivery of Harpoon anti-ship missiles, which Denmark and the Netherlands have also promised Ukraine, Wallace said. Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram said after meeting Wallace that his country was also considering further arms sales to Ukraine.
The two defense ministers made the statement a few hours before a meeting of the Ukraine contact group, which consists of almost 50 countries, at which US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is to discuss further military aid for Kyiv. Austin called on the US allies not to let up on arms deliveries. The United States recently promised four multiple rocket launchers to Kyiv. Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht also wanted to offer multiple rocket launchers of the MARS II type. According to media reports, Germany can only deliver three instead of four systems, among other things due to a lack of ammunition.
The London-led multinational force JEF includes a total of ten northern European countries, which together form a military intervention force. The Ukraine contact group was set up in April at the US military base in Ramstein, Germany.