United Kingdom To Supply Ukraine with Long-Range Missile Systems

The announcement comes after Putin's warning to the West.

UK said it will stand with Ukraine and condemn the Russian Government's actions

(Photo: The Quint)

The United Kingdom Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, in a statement on Monday, 6 June, said that the UK will supply M270 multiple launch rocket-launchers to Ukraine, in order to assist the Eastern European nation in its war against Russia, BBC reported.

The M270 can attack targets up to 50 miles away.

The UK government, however, has not stated how many weapons will be deployed.

"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 Putin's forces have used indiscriminately to flatten cities," Wallace was quoted as saying.

The decision comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin's warning to the Western countries against sending long range artilleries to Ukraine.

Earlier, the United States had announced that it would supply the war-torn country with HIMARS, or High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, as part of its $700 million weapons package, which would allow Ukrainian forces to conduct precision strikes at a longer range.

According to a report published in AFP, the HIMARS ammo delivered to Ukraine will not be capable of a 300-kilometer range. As a result, they could not be used on Russian soil.

What Russia Has Said

In an interview to Rossiya TV on Sunday, Putin was quoted saying, "In general, all this fuss about additional arms supplies, in my opinion, has only one goal – to drag out the armed conflict as long as possible," BBC reported.

The Russian President said that the artillery US was supplying was "nothing new" and warned the country against sending missiles. He said that Russia will strike at new targets in case long-range missiles are supplied.

UK's Stance On The War

The UK government has been providing assistance to Ukraine, in terms of economic, humanitarian and military support and has also imposed additional sanctions on Russia and Belarus in a move to condemn the action of the Russian Government.

UK's Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, in a press release on 3 June, said that we must be 'steadfast' in our support for Ukraine.

She said that over 1,000 individuals and 100 businesses have been sanctioned by the UK, including oligarchs with a combined net worth of more than £117 billion. With import duties covering £1.4 billion in goods, they have targeted Russian trade.

Truss mentioned that they have supplied Ukraine with more than 10,000 missiles and trained more than 22,000 army members.

(With inputs from BBC and AFP.)