US close to deal to deliver long-range missiles to Ukraine
The United States is close to reaching a deal to deliver long-range JASSM cruise missiles to Ukraine, but Kiev will have to wait several months as Washington needs to resolve technical issues, Reuters reported, citing US officials.
Earlier, the White House National Security Council refused to comment on media reports that the Washington administration was considering the possibility of providing long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.
“The United States is close to reaching a deal to supply long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine... but Kiev will have to wait several months while the United States resolves technical issues before delivery,” Reuters reported.
The US is expected to announce in the fall whether to include the longer-range JASSM missile in its aid package to Kiev. One of the officials also indicated that steps have been taken to ensure that the JASSM can be launched from “non-Western” fighters that Ukraine owns.
Russia criticized the supply of weapons to Ukraine as hindering the goal of resolving the conflict, directly dragging NATO countries into the conflict and "playing with fire". Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any shipment of weapons to Ukraine would become a legitimate target of Russian attack. According to him, the US and NATO are directly involved in the conflict, not only by supplying weapons but also through training Ukrainian personnel in the UK, Germany, Italy and other countries. The Kremlin stated that pumping weapons from the West to Ukraine does not contribute to the negotiations and will have a negative impact./.
