Security Chief Claims Ukraine May Acquire Long-range Missiles For US-given HIMARS, Ignore President Putin's Warnings?

Ilustrasi HIMARS. (Wikimedia Commons/USMC/LCPL Seth Maggard)

JAKARTA - The head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said his country is likely to acquire long-range missiles for the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) in the near future.

It is known, Russia has previously warned it would give a firm reaction, if Ukraine accepts receiving long-range missiles in an attack with HIMARS. The warning was directed at Ukraine and the United States as suppliers.

"Regarding HIMARS, there is an understanding that we are already starting to receive munitions that can be launched further than they could at the beginning. And let's hope that what we need, from that range, will appear soon in our country," Danilov said, as citing Sputnik News from Strana July 19.

This was conveyed by Danilov answering whether it was possible to expect delivery of ammunition with a range of up to 300 kilometers or 186 miles to Ukraine.

Reported earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the United States not to supply long-range missiles to Ukraine, or it would carry out attacks on new targets.

This is related to US President Joe Biden's decision to send HIMARS to Ukraine, after previously receiving assurances from Kyiv that the weapons would not be used to target Russia.

If long-range missiles are supplied, "we will strike targets that we have not hit," Putin told state television channel Rossiya-1 in an interview.

President Putin said the range of Lockheed Martin's HIMARS system depends on the ammunition supplied. Meanwhile, the range announced by the United States is almost the same as the Soviet-made missile system that Ukraine already has.

"This is nothing new. It basically doesn't change anything," Putin said. He said the weapons were simply replacing the ones Russia had destroyed.

Furthermore, President Putin did not identify the targets Russia would attack, but said the fuss around Western arms supplies was designed to defuse the conflict.