Ukraine has already received nine American HIMARS missile systems and similar complexes from the United States and its allies, but a serious counteroffensive requires dozens more of such weapons.
Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said this in a comment to The Wall Street Journal.
According to him, the HIMARS systems allowed Ukraine to strike Russian targets behind the front line, which were previously unreachable.
Danilov emphasized that the Russians are "defenseless in front of these weapons and are very worried".
Presumably, by similar systems, the Secretary of the National Security Council meant the M270 MLRS, which are similar to HIMARS, but on a tracked system.
About HIMARS
Each HIMARS installation fires six high-precision missiles with a range of up to 80 kilometers (twice that of the M777 howitzer), allowing it to strike Russian command posts, ammunition and fuel depots, as well as troop concentrations in the rear. These missile launchers are also smaller and more maneuverable, which helps them hide from reconnaissance. Crews work inside an armored cabin. And they are fast: in two or three minutes after parking, they can launch missiles and move again 20 seconds after the shot.
Each missile costs $155,000, so the Ukrainian military focuses its firepower on important targets, such as military headquarters, weapons depots and barracks, rather than on individual Russian tanks or artillery systems. In this way, they expect to force the Kremlin to withdraw assets from the front line, which will further complicate the logistics of the occupiers.
In June, Ukraine received four HIMARS installations from the US, four more are expected by mid-July. On Thursday, June 30, American President Joe Biden announced that as part of a new $800 million aid package, Ukraine will receive additional HIMARS from other countries and more ammunition from the United States.