“It is desirable that they be eliminated before their deployment”: what are the consequences of the transfer of Western MLRS to Kyiv

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that Ukraine will receive M270 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) and M31A1 ammunition from London free of charge to protect against "Russian aggression".

This was reported on the website of the military department of the United Kingdom.

“As Russia changes its tactics, the support we provide to Ukraine should also change.

These highly effective multiple launch rocket systems will enable our Ukrainian friends to better defend themselves against brutal long-range artillery fire,” Wallace said.

As explained in the British Ministry of Defense, the decision to transfer the M270 was made in response to a request from Kyiv to provide long-range precision weapons.

“The UK will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine so that the country has everything it needs to protect itself from the brutal “Russian aggression,” the website of the country’s Ministry of Defense says.

On June 6, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson informed President Volodymyr Zelensky about the transfer of M270 systems to the Armed Forces of Ukraine by telephone.

As stated in the message of the government of the United Kingdom, Johnson told Zelensky about "significant measures of support provided by the (Ukraine by the British. -

) government, including long-range multiple launch rocket systems to strike Russian artillery positions."

At the same time, London does not name the number of MLRS that the APU should receive.

According to Western media, we are still talking about a small number of MLRS.

According to the BBC, only three combat vehicles will be handed over to Ukrainian troops.

According to British military experts, in the arsenal of the United Kingdom, in principle, there are not so many M270s that can be supplied to Kyiv.

empty promises

MLRS is a development of the American company Lockheed Martin.

The system was created in the 1970s to counter the Soviet MLRS.

Today, the British Armed Forces are armed with the M270B1 modification with M31A1 ammunition, which is capable of hitting targets at a distance of over 70 km.

To target enemy targets, MLRS uses the capabilities of the GPS satellite system.

The crew of three is housed in an armored hull.

The main advantages of the M270B1 are the British Ministry of Defense's high reliability and maneuverability.

• MLRS M270 (MLRS)

• © www.lockheedmartin.com

In London, they do not hide the fact that the decision to transfer the MLRS to the Ukrainian army was coordinated with similar actions by the United States.

“The British decision was closely coordinated with the US decision to donate (Ukraine. -

) a highly mobile version of the MLRS - HIMARS,” the British military department noted.

Recall that on June 1, US President Joe Biden publicly announced the delivery of HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems to the Ukrainian army.

The transfer will be carried out as part of the 11th military assistance package with a total value of $700 million. The maximum firing range of this MLRS is 500 km, but Kyiv will receive ammunition capable of hitting targets within 80 km.

Training of military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to operate the M142 will take place in Europe.

It should take about three weeks.

The Pentagon claims that the United States is not interested in a conflict with Moscow, and focuses on the fact that the supply of HIMARS to the Kyiv regime is carried out on the condition that these systems are not used on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Formally, Kyiv agreed with this.

At the same time, Russia believes that the Ukrainian leadership will certainly use the MLRS to strike at Russian regions.

As Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation, said earlier at a press briefing, Kyiv plans to place American MLRS in the Sumy region bordering Russia and use them for provocations against our country.

“In the near future, Shostka (a settlement in the Sumy region. -

) is expected to receive long-range missile systems from the United States, with the help of which militants of the armed formations of Ukraine, on the orders of the SBU, plan to strike at the border territory of the Russian Federation directly from residential areas of the city, " Mizintsev said.

The purpose of the attack, according to the commander, is to call back fire from the Russian Armed Forces and accuse Russia of indiscriminate strikes against civilian infrastructure and the civilian population of Ukraine.

• US Forces M142 System (HIMARS)

• globallookpress.com

• © Lance Cpl.

  Dean Gurule

The Russian Foreign Ministry is also confident that the promises of the Kyiv regime not to use MLRS on Russian territory cannot be trusted.

On June 6, in an interview with journalists, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called assurances that Kyiv would not strike at the Russian Federation "chatter" as "chatter".

On June 2, a similar point of view on the air of the Solovyov LIVE program was voiced by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

In her opinion, such promises are "insignificant" and it is "useless" to discuss them.

The authorities of the people's republics are also afraid of strikes from the Western MLRS.

On June 3, the head of the LPR, Leonid Pasechnik, recalled that for all eight years of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, nothing prevented the killing of the civilian population of Donbass.

“Kiev can also use the new, powerful American MLRS for massive, destructive shelling of our (DNR and LNR. -

) territories,” Pasechnik said.

In a RT commentary, an expert from the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis Nikolay Kostikin noted that the supply of the Ukrainian army with MLRS from the UK and the USA could worsen the situation, primarily for the civilian population of the regions bordering Ukraine, Donbass, Crimea and the liberated territories of southern Ukraine.

The situation on the M142 and M270 front will not change.

“According to the available information, the APU will have few American and British multiple launch rocket systems.

They can create difficulties in certain sectors of the front, but they will not change the balance of power.

The worst thing is if Ukrainian troops fire at settlements with MLRS, ”Kostikin stated.

The expert believes that Russian intelligence will carefully monitor the movement of the M142 and M270.

According to Kostikin's forecast, most of the Western multiple launch rocket systems will be destroyed by the Russian Armed Forces either after they hit Ukraine or during the fighting in the Donbass.

“Our army has the technical means to detect and eliminate these MLRS.

Russia's air superiority plays a big role.

Our aviation is working very efficiently.

But, of course, it is desirable that Western multiple launch rocket systems be eliminated before they are deployed at the firing lines, ”Kostikin emphasized.

Consequence warning

Russian officials have already made a number of statements about the possible consequences of the transfer of the MLRS to the Kyiv regime.

Thus, in an interview with the journalist of the Russia 1 TV channel Pavel Zarubin, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow could strike "on those objects that we have not yet struck."

“Yes, but if they are and (MLRS. -

) will be delivered, from this we will draw the appropriate conclusions and use our means of destruction, which we have enough to strike at those objects that we have not yet struck ", - said the head of state.

On June 6, in an interview with journalists, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense, Colonel-General, the former head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, Andrey Kartapolov, admitted that the Russian army could strike at the institutions of the state administration system and on the transport infrastructure of Ukraine.

“Kyiv airport is functioning… there are railway stations, main railway lines, road bridges and much more, not to mention the authorities, because there was not a single blow against the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, or the General Staff, or the Rada, or other ministries, where decisions are made, tasks are set, ”TASS quotes Kartapolov.

• Ministry of Defense of Ukraine

• RIA News

Experts interviewed by RT consider the scenario of Russian response, which was voiced by the head of the State Duma Committee on Defense, to be "quite real".

“I don’t think that the American and British multiple launch rocket systems will reach the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

But if this happens, a number of important facilities in Ukraine will be destroyed.

The Ukrainian military has been working in bunkers for a long time.

Now, apparently, all officials will do this,” says Kostikin.

In an interview with RT, Oleg Nemensky, a leading expert at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, said that by supplying MLRS to Kyiv, the West once again demonstrates a “utilitarian” and indifferent attitude to the fate of Ukraine.

“The US and the UK are not interested in how serious the Russian response will be if it does not concern themselves.

With yet another military assistance in the form of multiple launch rocket systems and ignoring Moscow's warnings, the collective West is once again showing its true attitude towards Ukraine as a tool in the fight against Russia," Nemensky concluded.