The UK will send a “cutting edge” rocket system to Ukraine to help troops fight back Russia’s advance in the embattled east of the country, in defiance of a threat from Vladimir Putin.
The M270 multiple-launch rocket system is now heading to the battlefield, despite Mr Putin’s warning that the provision of longer-range missiles would see Russia strike harder.
It can hit targets up to 50 miles (80km) away with “pinpoint accuracy”, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The commitment came as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the cities of Lysychansk and Soledar, after earlier visiting the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.
Lysychansk is in Luhansk and Soledar in Donetsk – together the eastern regions make up the Donbas, which is now Russia’s focus of the war and the scene of fierce fighting.
The MoD said its latest move had been coordinated with America’s recent decision to donate a variant of the same system, and that it followed requests for longer-range precision weapons to attack Russian heavy artillery.
Ukrainian troops will come to the UK to learn how to use the weapon, which is manned by a crew of three and mounted on a tracked armoured launcher.
Britain has so far donated £750m of military gear, including more than 5,000 anti-tank missiles and 120 armoured vehicles.
