US says Ukraine will not use US-supplied rocket systems to hit Russian territory

The US plans to supply the M142 high mobility artillery rocket system (Himars) equipped with munitions with a range of about 50 miles, but not the more advanced rockets that can fly 185 miles. Himars is light, highly mobile and can be quickly reloaded by its crew.

The expectation is that Ukraine could use the rockets in the eastern Donbas region, where they could intercept Russian artillery and take out Russian positions in towns where fighting is intense, such as Sievierodonetsk.

With Ukraine facing reverses in the battle for Donbas, Kyiv has been pushing hard for allies in Europe and the US to supply long-range artillery systems in attempt to redress the balance for its outgunned and outnumbered forces in a war that has increasingly become dominated by intense artillery duels.

Each launcher can carry six GPS-guided rockets, which can be reloaded in about a minute, and the system is considered more advanced than other rocket systems that Ukrainian forces currently use.

He said there were significant targets that Ukrainians could not reach with the weapons they had, and the rocket system would make a big difference in the conflict in the south-eastern part of the country, where Russian forces are currently focused.

The promise of Himars represents the 11th US assistance package for Ukraine approved so far and will be the first to tap into the $40bn in security and economic assistance package recently passed by Congress.

The rocket systems would be part of Pentagon drawdown authority, so their supply would involve taking weapons from US inventory and getting them into Ukraine quickly. Ukrainian troops would need training on the new systems, which could take at least a week or two.

Agencies contributed to this article