Weapons from NATO countries, in particular the United States, will help Ukraine return the territories occupied by Russia – Crimea and Donbass.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said this in an interview with CNN. He stressed that this would not happen as quickly as we would like – at the third stage of the liberation of Ukrainian territories.
We are going to liberate all our territories, everything, including Crimea. The peninsula is a strategic target for Ukraine because it is Ukrainian territory. We will move step by step towards the liberation of all territories,” Reznikov said.
Ukraine already has a plan for winning this war: stages
- According to Reznikov, the first step there will be a stabilization of the situation on the ground in order to prevent further losses of the Armed Forces.
- The second stage is necessary in order to push the Russian troops back to their positions before the invasion on February 24.
- The liberation of the Crimea will be discussed only in the third stage and Western allies will be involved in this process.
The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly stated that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will not use weapons to attack Russia, but Crimea is the territory of Ukraine. The United States also agrees with this.
When and what weapons will Ukraine receive
On June 15, after the Ramstein-3 meeting, it became known that various states would provide Ukraine with additional heavy weapons. In particular:
- The United States will significantly increase aid. It will include 155-millimeter cannons, HIMARS missile systems, Harpoon anti-ship systems;
- Slovakia will provide helicopters;
- Canada, Poland and the Netherlands – artillery;
- Germany – multiple launch rocket systems.
It is also known that HIMARS missile systems, along with ammunition and trained crews, will be transferred to Ukraine by the end of June.
Ukraine uses the provided weapons by purpose
Multiple launch rocket systems are capable of hitting targets at a distance of more than 64 kilometers. In particular, the range of the MLRS is almost twice that of the M777 howitzers, which were previously provided to Ukraine.
Therefore, Russia had a panic – they fear that Ukraine will attack their territory. State Department Speaker Ned Price stressed that Ukraine has the right to decide independently how to use weapons – solely for defense purposes.
