US plans for supplying long-range weapons to Ukraine: State Department's response
US State Department (Getty Images)
The US government is ready to consider all options and increase its support for Ukraine. At the same time, the issue of supplying new long-range weapons is only being discussed and there is no concrete answer to it, according to US State Department spokesman Daniel Cisek in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
"This issue is being discussed, but at the moment, I don't have a specific answer. But so far, we have seen that the U.S. government is ready to consider all options and increase its support," he says.
The State Department official reminded that the United States has already provided powerful weapons for Ukraine's self-defense.
"I cannot comment on specific systems or new armaments. But I can say that the U.S. government continues to explore all possible options to support Ukraine. And it remains in close contact with the Ukrainian government, discussing Ukraine's defense needs," says Cisek.
According to him, the United States has seen that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are very capable, they understand very quickly how to use any weapons for self-defense, and they use all this equipment very creatively.
"We see that regarding the F-16, Ukrainian pilots are very skilled, ready, and highly motivated," he summarizes.
Delivery of long-range US weapons to Ukraine
As reported in late November, the United States is postponing until next year the delivery to Ukraine of the first large batch of ground-launched small-diameter bombs (GLSDBs) adapted to strike at a range of about 160 km. The Ukrainian Armed Forces need the GLSDBs to augment the limited number of ATACMS missiles previously provided by the United States. This will allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to engage enemy targets at a distance twice the range of the HIMARS.
