Ukraine war: US to provide long-range missiles in latest aid package

The US says further subject assistance to Ukraine worthy $2.2bn (£1.83bn) volition see long-range missiles susceptible of doubling its onslaught range.

It brings the full magnitude of subject assistance fixed to Ukraine to much than $29.3bn (£24.31bn) since February 2022.

The bundle includes ground-launched small-diameter bombs (GLSDB) which deed targets up to 150km (93 miles) away.

But officials refused to beryllium drawn connected speculation that the munitions could beryllium utilized to onslaught parts of annexed Crimea.

"When it comes to Ukrainian plans connected operations, intelligibly that is their decision," Pentagon spokesperson Brig Gen Pat Ryder told reporters.

"This gives them a longer-range capability, long-range fires capability, that volition alteration them, again, to behaviour operations successful defence of their state and instrumentality backmost their sovereign territory, Russian-occupied areas."

Russia illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula successful 2014 and considers it portion of its territory. But it has travel nether sporadic occurrence from Ukrainian forces successful caller months.

And Western nations person repeatedly ruled retired providing Ukraine with violative weapons - specified arsenic combatant jets - which it could usage to onslaught against Russia itself.

In a tweet, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the US and President Joe Biden for the further aid.

"The much long-range our weapons are and the much mobile our troops are, the sooner Russia's brutal aggression volition end," Mr Zelensky wrote. "Together with [the US] we basal against terror."

Previously, Ukraine's longest scope limb was the Himars rocket system, which tin deed targets astatine a scope of up to 80km (50 miles). Kyiv utilized the strategy to devastating effect during its counter-offensive successful the southbound and eastbound earlier this year.

The GLSDB besides gives Ukraine forces an quality to onslaught anyplace successful the Russian-occupied Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. It besides allows Ukraine to endanger Russian proviso lines successful the east.

Manufactured by Boeing and Saab, GLSDB is simply a gliding rocket with a tiny weaponry attached, susceptible of striking a people wrong 1 metre of its position.

And it tin beryllium fired from a assortment of weapons systems, including the Himars and M270 MLRS systems already successful usage successful Ukraine. However, some the Pentagon and Boeing refused to remark connected transportation dates for the system, with immoderate reports suggesting that it could instrumentality up to 9 months earlier it reaches Ukraine.

The caller bundle - which volition besides see further Himars missiles and 250 Javelin anti-armour systems - comes amid mounting concerns that Western nations person been excessively dilatory to supply caller subject assistance to Ukraine.

"GLSDB should person been approved past fall, US House of Representatives Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers said successful a tweet. "Every time it's not approved is simply a time it's delayed getting it into the hands of a Ukrainian acceptable to termination a Russian."

In caller days, reports person emerged that a Russian violative successful the eastbound Donbas portion has been gaining momentum, with pro-Kremlin bloggers suggesting that the municipality of Bakhmut, agelong a focal constituent of Russian attacks, has been surrounded from three-sides.

But President Zelensky said his forces were entrenched astir the municipality and would not surrender it to Russian assaults.

"We see Backhmut to beryllium our fortress," the Ukrainian person said. "If limb [deliveries] are accelerated - namely long-range weapons - we volition not lone not retreat from Bakhmut, we volition statesman to de-occupy Donbas, which has been occupied since 2014."

Mr Zelensky said earlier that a long-rumoured Russian outpouring violative successful the portion had already begun and his Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said earlier this week that Moscow had mobilised immoderate 500,000 troops for the renewed assault.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian person has been holding caller EU accession talks with the bloc's leaders, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Charles Michel, successful Kyiv.

Speaking aft the summit, Mr Zelensky said the leaders had reached an "understanding that it is imaginable to commencement negotiations connected Ukraine's rank successful the European Union this year".

But Ms von der Leyen said determination were "no rigid timelines" successful spot and emphasised that Ukraine had governmental goals it indispensable conscionable earlier joining the block.

The EU has repeatedly underlined the request for Ukraine to measurement up its combat against endemic corruption, betterment its judiciary by weeding retired governmental interference and fortify its economy.

Elsewhere, Germany has announced plans to nonstop Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine. The earlier exemplary of the Leopard 2s - which Berlin has already promised to supply - tin beryllium delivered to Kyiv sooner than the precocious model.