American GMLRS Multiple Launch Rocket System. File photoWASHINGTON, May 30. The US authorities are exploring the possibility of supplying Kyiv with multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), but without long-range missiles, the Washington Post reports, citing sources familiar with the discussions in the US administration.< p>"The dispatch of the MLRS is under consideration, but options with the possibility of delivering a long-range strike are not being considered", — said one of the interlocutors of the publication. Earlier in the day, US President Joe Biden told reporters that the country would not supply Kyiv with missile systems capable of striking Russian territory.
As the source noted, a final decision on this issue in Washington has not yet been made. A new package of military assistance, as the leading US media wrote earlier, could be announced as early as this week. The Wall Street Journal in a recent article wrote that as part of the new assistance, Washington intends to supply MLRS capable of hitting «tens of miles further than any artillery installation that Ukraine currently has at its disposal.» Also, the new assistance package is expected to include HIMARS systems, which have approximately the same missile launch range but move on wheeled chassis. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. Russian President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, as of March 25, the Armed Forces completed the main tasks of the first stage — they significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass. The Russian Federation sent a note to all countries, including the United States, because of the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. The Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation stated that the NATO countries are «playing with fire» by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted that pumping Ukraine with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect. >U.S. supplied Ukraine with more than 23,500 tons of weapons