FT: UK defense chief says Ukraine to increase long-range strikes in Russia

In this handout photo released by the South Korean Defense Ministry, U.S. Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) firing a missile into the East Sea during a South Korean joint missile drill aimed to counter North Korean ICBM test on July 29, 2017, in East Coast, South Korea. (South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images)

Ukrainian troops will be able to boost the effectiveness of their long-range attacks inside Russia as an influx of Western military aid aims to help Kyiv shape the war “in much stronger ways,” the head of the U.K. military, Tony Radakin, said in an interview with the Financial Times.

Radakin acknowledged the somber atmosphere surrounding Ukraine’s defense, conceding that the country is encountering a challenging struggle to fend off advancing Russian forces.

However, the U.K.’s chief of defense emphasized that such a bleak “snapshot” of the war overlooks longer-term trends that favor Kyiv. These trends encompass the recent influxes of military aid from the U.S. and Europe, Ukraine’s increasingly effective long-range attacks, and Moscow’s “complete failure” to halt Kyiv’s essential grain exports via the Black Sea.

“The danger with any snapshot is that it [ignores] where we are now with where we will be in the next couple of years,” Radakin told the FT, adding people should stop “feting Russia” and believing it “somehow has got major advantages.”

In a notable advancement for Ukraine, Washington abandoned its hesitations regarding providing the country with long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles. These were secretly dispatched earlier this month, boasting a range of 300 kilometers.

On April 24, U.S. President Joe Biden announced he had signed the foreign aid bill, which includes almost $61 billion for Ukraine, into law, marking the final step of the legislative process.

“It gives vital support to America’s partners so they can defend themselves from threats to their sovereignty,” Biden said, adding he would order to send weapons to Kyiv shortly.

“As Ukraine gains more capabilities for the long-range fight . . . its ability to continue deep operations will [increasingly] become a feature” of the war, Radakin said, adding “they definitely have an effect.”