No single weapon is decisive in war – Pentagon chief on long-range strikes on Russia

Oleh Pavliuk, Yevhen Kizilov — Friday, 6 September 2024, 19:44

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin believes that no single weapon, including long-range missiles, will change the tide in the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Source: Austin at a press conference following the Ramstein-format meeting on 6 September, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Austin once again stressed that there is no one capability that will be decisive in the war, and the US’s approach is to integrate different weapons to achieve the best result.

The US will keep doing all it can to guarantee that the Ukrainians have everything they need to achieve success, create the right dynamic on the battlefield, and help Ukraine better protect its territory, Austin said.

Asked to comment on Ukraine’s argument regarding the necessity to strike air bases with Russian aircraft which strike Ukrainian cities, Austin stated that Russia has taken the aircraft outside the ATACMS range.

He then added that Ukraine has its own weapons that are capable of striking targets located far outside the range of ATACMS or even Storm Shadows, giving drones as an example.

Background:

  • This year, the US gave Ukraine permission to utilise US-supplied weapons to carry out strikes in Russian border regions from which attacks on Ukrainian cities are launched.
  • Kyiv has requested that the permission be extended to targets deep within Russian territory, notably airfields where fighter jets that carry long-range missiles are stationed, which Ukraine is presently unable to attack.
  • Earlier the Pentagon stated that the United States had not changed its policy on Ukraine’s use of US-supplied  weapons to strike deep within Russian territory.

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