What difference will Joe Biden’s advanced rocket systems make in Ukraine?

Washington will send Ukraine more advanced rocket systems to help the country defend itself, Joe Biden has announced.

The US president said that the move will strengthen Kyiv’s negotiating position with Russia and make a diplomatic solution more likely, but Moscow said it viewed the development “extremely negatively”.

What is US sending?

Writing in The New York Times, Biden said the US “will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine”.

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A senior White House official said the shipment will include the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which can launch multiple precision-guided missiles at targets up to 45 miles away.

The HIMARS range is far longer than anything in Ukraine’s current artillery and they are believed to be more accurate than their Russian equivalents.

This package of military aid, the eleventh approved by the US for Ukraine since the invasion began in February, will also include helicopters, anti-tank weapons, tactical vehicles and spare parts.

What isn’t the US sending?

White House officials say they agreed to provide the rockets only after gaining assurances from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the weapons would not be used to attack targets inside Russia.

The longest-range munition the new systems are capable of firing – MGM-140 Advanced Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), with a maximum range of 186 miles – will therefore not be included in the package, noted Forbes.

“We are not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia,” Biden wrote. He added that the US “will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces”.

However, Moscow was not placated by these words. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Ria news agency: “We view this extremely negatively, because attempts to present the decision as containing elements of ‘self-restraint’ are useless.”

How will it help?

The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent, Paul Adams, wrote that Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region have complained that they lack firepower.

He believes the new systems could therefore be “game-changers” as their GPS-guided rockets are much more accurate than the equivalent Russian systems, and much quicker to reload, and the launch vehicles can move quickly from one location to another.

The Telegraph added that Ukrainian forces will use the rockets in the eastern Donbas region to intercept Russian artillery, and take out Russian positions in areas including the city of Severodonetsk.