Britain to send M270 rocket launchers to Ukraine
The British army’s M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) fires during Summer Shield 2022 military exercise in Adazi military base, Latvia May 27, 2022. REUTERS
LONDON — Britain will supply Ukraine with multiple-launch rocket systems that can strike targets up to 80 km (50 miles) away, it said on Monday, in a move that was coordinated with the United States in response to Russia’s invasion.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Britain’s support for Ukraine would change as Russia’s tactics evolved, explaining the gift of the M270 multiple-launch systems.
ADVERTISEMENT
“These highly capable multiple-launch rocket systems will enable our Ukrainian friends to better protect themselves against the brutal use of long-range artillery, which (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s forces have used indiscriminately to flatten cities,” Wallace said in a statement.
U.S. President Joe Biden last week said Washington would supply Ukraine with M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, after he received assurances from Kyiv that it would not be used to hit targets inside Russian territory.
At least 50 killed in massacre at Catholic church in southwest Nigeria
New kid in the House Makabayan bloc
Arsenic contaminates groundwater in 9 Batangas localities
Putin said the arms shipments were “nothing new” but warned that there would be a response if the United States supplied longer-range munitions for the HIMARS systems.
The U.S. Department of Defense said it was supplying Ukraine four M142 HIMARS systems along with the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System that it said had a range of over 40 miles (64 km).
Britain said Ukrainian troops would be trained on how to use the new launchers in Britain, after it previously announced that it would train Ukrainian personnel to use armoured vehicles.
RELATED STORIES
Ukraine says it pushed back Russian troops in battlefield city
War enters 100th day with Russia controlling ‘fifth of Ukraine’
Explosions rock Ukrainian capital Kyiv, mayor says
G7 pledges billions for Ukraine ‘to get through this’
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Read Next
Number of Filipinos with COVID-19 booster shots ‘quite anemic’ – Duque
EDITORS’ PICK
MOST READ
Don’t miss out on the latest news and information. 
View comments