WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States will deliver the first batch of new long-range precision bombs to Ukraine on Wednesday following successful tests almost a year after the US announced it would deliver the weapons to Kiev, Politico reported on Tuesday, citing a US official and other people in the know.
The Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs have a 90-mile range and are made by Boeing, the report said.
The bombs, which even the United States does not yet have in its arsenal, will be used for the first time on the battlefield in Ukraine and are expected to be “a significant capability for Ukraine,” the official said.
Western countries have been providing military aid to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s special military operation in February 2022 in the amount of hundreds of billions of dollars. The aid evolved from artillery munitions and training in 2022 to heavier weapons, including tanks, advanced air-defense systems, cluster munitions and missiles later that year and in 2023. The Kremlin has consistently warned against the West’s continued arms deliveries to Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that NATO’s expansion to include Ukraine creates a direct national security threat to Russia and Moscow considers the non-aligned status of Ukraine to be extremely important. Putin also said that Russia has always stood against Ukraine’s membership in NATO due to its national security concerns, but never opposed its aspirations to join the European Union.
