Ukraine May Get Longer-Range US HIMARS Missiles, National Security Head Claims

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraine may receive longer-range missiles for the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) in the near future, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council head Oleksiy Danilov said on Tuesday.

"As for HIMARS, there is some understanding that we have already started to receive ammunition that can be launched much further than they could at the beginning. And let's hope that what we need, of that range, will soon appear on the territory of our country," Danilov said, as quoted by Ukrainian news website Strana.ua, answering whether it is possible to hope for deliveries of ammunition with a range of up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) to Ukraine.

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow would reconsider its refraining from striking "those objects that have not been hit yet" if Ukraine receives long-range missiles from abroad capable of reaching Russian territory.

Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24, after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. In response to Russia's operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.