US to supply long-range weapons to Ukraine
The United States will supply long-range weapons to Ukraine, the White House announced in a statement on Thursday. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who will meet US president Joe Biden on Thursday, has already expressed his satisfaction with the decision.
The US will supply Ukraine with the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), a glide bomb capable of long-range precision strikes, Biden announced. The JSOW is part of a new US aid package to Ukraine worth 7 billion euros.
Ukraine will also receive other weapons and ammunition from the US. For example, the US military will refurbish an old Patriot system for Ukraine's air defence. Biden also said he wanted to strengthen Ukraine's air force by expanding training for Ukrainian F-16 pilots.
Zelensky, who will meet Biden at the White House later on Thursday, welcomed the aid, which he said would help Ukraine win the war against Russia. "We will use this aid in the most effective and transparent way to achieve our main common goal: Ukraine's victory, a just and lasting peace," the Ukrainian president wrote on Telegram.
New nuclear doctrine
It is clear that Russia anticipated the US decision, as president Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday that the country had changed its nuclear doctrine.
"Aggression against Russia by a non-nuclear state, but with the help or support of a nuclear state, will be considered a concerted attack on the Russian Federation," Putin said on Wednesday. Russia would also defend its ally Belarus with nuclear weapons if necessary, he added.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that the change should be seen as a "signal" to the West.
PHOTO © SAUL LOEB / AFP
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