NATO calls Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russia 'extremely effective'
Photo: Christopher Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO (flickr by Secretary of Defense Public Affairs)
Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian territory using Western missiles have been "extremely effective," states Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO, General Christopher Cavoli, during a hearing in the US Senate Armed Services Committee.
One of the senators asked Cavoli to assess Ukraine's use of long-range missiles provided by Western countries for strikes on Russia.
"They (the missiles – ed.) have been extremely effective. I could go into this in in private session, but the United States makes some very good weaponry and and it's, it's the ones we've donated have been very, very effective in closed session. I'd be happy to talk to you about a few of the things they've done with it," the general replied.
Cavoli also added that the transfer of Patriot systems to Ukraine is a success story. Ukrainians are actively using them.
"Frankly, I was just a little bit dubious in the beginning. It's a complicated system. We trained guys for a long, long time to be able to operate it. The Ukrainians put their really best people against it and took to it like a fish to water. And in fact, we learned from some of their employment techniques right now," he added.
Permission for strikes on Russia
The US provided Ukraine with its long-range ATACMS missiles. This decision was made by the administration of Joe Biden. The weapons were supplied on the condition that they would not be used for strikes on Russian territory.
The US government allowed Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles against Russia only last year. Before that, Biden was concerned that such a move could lead to escalation.
On November 19, it became known that Ukraine had used ATACMS missiles for the first time to attack Russian territory.
