After missiles and missile launchers, then tanks and artillery, here comes the time of multiple rocket launchers. Faced with the advance of Russian forces and the shelling of cities like Kharkiv, Ukraine needs new weapons, Boris Johnson acknowledged on Friday May 27. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, the British Prime Minister pleaded for the West to deliver MLRS (M-270 MLRS, for Multiple Launch Rocket System) to Ukraine.
According to him, these weapons would allow Ukraine to “defend itself against Russian artillery”, especially as Moscow’s forces “continue to nibble away” in the Donbass region, making “slow but (… ) palpable”.
For their part, the Ukrainian authorities are constantly calling for this type of armament: “Some partners avoid giving the necessary weapons for fear of escalation. Escalation ? Really ? Russia is already using the heaviest non-nuclear weapons, burning people alive. Maybe it’s time (…) to give us MLRS? “Tweeted, on Friday, Mykhaïlo Podoliak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, accompanying his remarks with images of the use by the Russians of thermobaric weapons, which combine thermal effects, shock wave and effect of reverse breath.
On Thursday, General Oleksi Hromov, deputy chief of the operations directorate of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, confirmed that the situation was complicated for the Ukrainian forces, bombarded by aviation and pounded by the Russian army. .
In addition to the M-270 MLRS, Ukraine is asking for Himars (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, multiple rocket launchers mounted on a truck), firing the same ammunition.
With a caliber of 277 millimeters, the rockets fired by the M-270 MLRS and Himars are more powerful than traditional artillery and have already been used in the two Gulf Wars, in 1990-1991 and in 2003.
After the Javelin missile launchers and the Stinger missiles, the administration of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, has already resolved to deliver M-777 howitzers, i.e. light 155 mm guns with a range of 21 to 40 kilometers, depending on the type of ammunition. During his last briefing, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the United States was considering the request from Ukrainian authorities regarding the MLRS. According to CNN, an announcement could take place next week. Military officials told the outlet that training Ukrainian gunners in either rocket launcher system would take about two weeks.
