Former US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper calls for ATACMS long-range aircraft and missiles to be provided to Ukraine.
Former US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper believes Western policy on Ukraine is correct, but too slow. In his opinion, Western aid, which was announced during the January “Ramstein”, will not have time to reach Ukraine in time for the alleged new Russian offensive.
This is reported by the Voice of America.
“We are worried about the Russian offensive in the spring, and this is March, which is five weeks away. Therefore, we will calculate the logistics – in order to deliver the tanks in the required weeks, we still need to teach the crew, this also takes weeks. We need to teach them not only individual skills, but also how to work collectively , we need to create the logistics of logistics, resupply systems. I'm afraid we won't be ready in time,” Esper stressed.
The ex-minister is convinced that for success, Ukraine should have received tanks in the fall. Therefore, he urges the White House and allies to be proactive and not hesitate to decide on ATACMS missiles and fighter aircraft.
“Instead of reacting to the threat of a Russian offensive, I would rather see the Ukrainians go on the offensive now, while the Russians are still trying to train, equip and organize their military, defeat them and push them out of Ukrainian territory. But now we are lagging behind, tanks should have been handed over to the Ukrainians in September or October,” Esper emphasized.
He added that the United States should also approve the provision of aircraft to Ukraine.
“If they (Ukrainians – ed.) are going to engage in a combined arms battle, you need to have not only direct fire, but also fire from the air.We need to send them ATACMS, because this way the Ukrainians could get deep into eastern Ukraine, deep into the Crimea, to destroy the launch sites of “martyrs”, building launch sites for launching missiles, setting up logistics depots, barracks, whatever. You need to have accurate weapons over long distances,” the ex-minister added.
Recall that US President Joe Biden in Monday, January 30, he said that the United States would not transfer planes to Ukraine.
In addition, the White House also supported this position of the American leader. Like, the US is already sending or announced help to send, including Abrams tanks.
