Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said that, as a result of talks between President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Joe Biden on Thursday, he believes the US soon will give Ukraine ATACMS missiles that reach almost twice as far as the version included in the last shipment.
The two presidents spoke about continued support for Ukraine ahead of Biden’s televised address on Thursday evening that underscored the need for billions of dollars in international aid.
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In a Twitter update on Thursday, Zelensky mentioned that he and Biden “discussed further strengthening our long-range capabilities.”
In an interview with the “Breakfast with 1+1” television program, Kuleba said, “If you read between the lines of President Zelensky’s speech after his talks with Biden, you can understand that a very important decision was made.”
When pressed on whether that “important decision” included longer-range missiles in the future, Kuleba responded, “That’s what it means.”
The first batch of ATACMS that arrived in Ukraine a few days ago was an older version of the MGM-140, produced by Lockheed Martin in the 1990s, that had a range of up to 165 km (about 100 miles).
Kuleba was confident that the next shipment would include the newer version of the missiles, which can reach targets up to 300 km (about 190 miles).
He added that he believes this kind of support from Washington will arrive on a more regular basis and in greater quantities.
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The last package from Washington included about 20 of the older missiles, according to the New York Times, citing unnamed US officials.
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