“President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked his American colleague “for providing the most important means to protect our people””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“In order to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to carry out long-range strikes, I have decided to provide Ukraine with long-range Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) ammunition,” the American leader said in a statement.
JSOW is a high-precision glide bomb with a total weight of about 500 kilograms, which, in the case of high-altitude flight, is designed to be dropped at a range of up to 130 kilometers (can be installed on the F-16, but high-altitude flight is difficult for Ukrainian pilots due to Russian long-range air defense systems and the superiority of fighters, Defense Express experts write).
To strengthen Ukraine’s air defense, the US President instructed the Ministry of Defense to repair and provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defense battery, as well as provide Ukraine with additional missiles for such batteries. “This builds on my decision earlier this year to redirect US air defense exports to Ukraine, which will provide Ukraine with hundreds of additional Patriot and AMRAAM missiles over the next year and help Ukraine protect its cities and people,” Biden said.
The US president also instructed the Pentagon to expand the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 aircraft, “including by supporting the training of 18 more pilots next year.”
Separately, the president of the United States mentioned new sanctions against the Russian Federation.
“To counter Russian sanctions evasion and money laundering, the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, and the US Secret Service today took action to disrupt the global cryptocurrency network in coordination with international partners. The United States will continue to increase Russia’s spending on its war in Ukraine and deprive the Russian defense and industrial base of resources,” Biden said, adding that his “message is clear: the United States will provide Ukraine with the support it needs to win this war.”
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked his American colleague “for providing the most important means to protect our people.”
“I also appreciate the decision to expand programs to train more of our pilots to fly the F-16, as well as the strong sanctions introduced to further limit Russia’s ability to finance its aggression against Ukraine,” added the Ukrainian head of state.