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

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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."

Ukraine war latest: Biden signs $61 billion aid bill for Ukraine; US began secretly providing ATACMS in March
Key developments on April 24: * Biden signs $61 billion aid bill for Ukraine * Pentagon ready to send $1 billion in weapons to Kyiv * State Department confirms US began secretly providing Ukraine long-range ATACMS in March * Sources: SBU drone attack destroys 26,000 cubic meters of Russian fuel…
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Olena Goncharova

Head of North America desk

Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.

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