On July 15, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov was unable to answer a question about the effectiveness of NASAMS anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) in a conversation with reporters.
“I’m not ready to answer. I am not a rocket scientist, I am a lawyer, a lawyer as Minister of Defense. So now I’m not ready to tell you. But I’m a fast learner. I can tell you about other types of weapons that I had no idea about before. And today, for example, I distinguish between MLRS and HIMARS. And I will learn everything about NASAMS in detail, ”the Ukrainian defense minister boasted in an interview with BBC (the site is blocked in Russia by the decision of Roskomnadzor for spreading fakes).
He added that in November 2021, he was answered in the United States on a request for weapons by saying that this is impossible, since the law prohibits it. And now Ukraine has HIMARS 155-caliber artillery, MLRS launchers, armored vehicles and, Reznikov is sure, will also provide aircraft.
On July 1, the Pentagon press service announced the allocation of another $820 million military assistance package to the Ukrainian side. It was specified that it would include new NASAMS anti-aircraft missile systems and anti-artillery radars.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on June 27 that Washington would send modern medium and long-range air defense (AD) systems, artillery shells and counter-battery radars to Kyiv.
On the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the United States did not notify Moscow of the delivery of a long-range air defense system to Ukrainians.
Russia’s representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, on June 9 called the supply of heavy military equipment to Kyiv a clear escalation of the conflict. In his opinion, the Russian Federation will have to move the Ukrainian forces beyond the range of these weapons.
Western countries are sending weapons and military equipment to Kyiv against the backdrop of a special operation conducted by the Russian Federation to protect Donbass. The Russian side has repeatedly stressed that such supplies prolong the conflict and do not lead to a diplomatic solution to the situation.
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