Explainer-in-brief: In Ukraine, the fighting moves to a longer-range war
We’re at day 104 of the war in Ukraine. After a break lasting weeks, Russia hit Kyiv again on Sunday. The day after, the UK confirmed it was sending more weapons. It will provide the longer-range rockets that President Zelensky – who was visiting the Donbas region yesterday – has been repeatedly calling for.
The rockets are reportedly incredibly accurate. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has been wanting to send these weapons to Ukraine since April, yet the approval only came after US President Biden sent an M142 high-mobility artillery rocket system last week.
Ukrainian soldiers will be trained with these weapons here in the UK – yet they might be left wondering what took the US and the UK so long. Possibly fear of Russia’s reaction.
The Kremlin said last week that Biden’s decision to send the rocket system added “fuel to the fire”. They will not be pleased to hear the UK has decided to commit too.