What did Kyiv want?
Ukraine needs missiles with a range of 800 kilometers or more. Alexei Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), wrote this on Twitter.
“The best and most effective solution to the energy problem for Ukraine are missiles with a range of 800 km or more, which will significantly save on generators,” said Danilov.
In the previous days, several Western countries immediately announced that they would supply generators and transformers to Kiev to combat the electricity shortage after the Russian armed forces’ attacks on infrastructure facilities. In particular, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom announced that these goods worth about 10 million dollars will be delivered soon.
According to official data, the USA and Europe do not supply Ukraine with missiles with a range of more than 150-180 km. Kyiv has repeatedly requested from Washington ATACMS missiles with a range of 300 km, they can be launched from HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems already in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, President Joe Biden had refused to transfer these missiles to Ukraine in May. Over the summer, this idea was echoed by the President’s Deputy for National Security, Jake Sullivan, saying that the use of ATACMS by Ukraine against Russian soil could lead to World War III.
Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that if longer-range missiles are transferred to Kiev, the United States will “cross the red line” and become a de facto party to the conflict. In this case, according to Zakharova, Moscow will defend its territory in every possible way.
What missiles do the US and EU have?
800 kilometers is considered a short range for ballistic missiles. A significant number of such shells have been destroyed since 1987 under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) between Russia and the United States. In particular, we are talking about the American Pershing-1A missiles with a range of up to 740 km. However, since 2019 the INF Treaty has been de facto repealed, independent military experts in both Russia and the West have reported that from now on both sides can increase the production of such shells (with a range of 500 to 1000 km).
If we talk about a flight range of up to 800 km, then the United States, in addition to ATACMS, has a new PrSM supersonic missile developed by Lockheed Martin. It was specially developed to “comply” with the INF Treaty – its official maximum flight range is 499 km. However, it has not yet entered service with the US Army.
Another American Typhon complex allows firing at 550 km, and in the future – up to 1000 km, depending on the type of ammunition. European countries practically do not have missiles of their own design with a firing range exceeding 250-300 km. American medium-range missiles deployed in EU countries, as a rule, are stationary.
If we talk about medium-range ballistic missiles (1000-5000 km), then there is the Dark Eagle hypersonic complex with a flight range of up to 2775 km. In addition, Russian and foreign experts are confident that a sufficient number of undestroyed Pershing II missiles with a range of up to 1800 km remain in American warehouses.
where can you reach
In the event of the delivery of missiles with a range of 800 km to Kiev, several Russian sites will be in the affected area, given the current positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donbass in the eastern direction. Once upon a time. In addition to the regions on the border with Ukraine (Voronezh, Kursk, Bryansk regions, as well as Kuban, Stavropol), missiles with a shorter range can reach the cities of the Middle and Lower Volga regions. Including – to Astrakhan, Volgograd, Saratov. The range also includes the republics of the North Caucasus, including Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, and North Ossetia.
Assuming that the US will supply the Ukrainian army with missiles with a range of 1000 km or more, they could theoretically reach Chechnya and Dagestan from the eastern borders of the line of contact in the Donbass. Samara, Togliatti, Saransk, Penza will be included in the coverage area.
In the case of the deployment of missiles with a range of 800-1000 km in the northern regions of Ukraine (for example, in the Sumy region), it could be Moscow, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Ivanovo, Vladimir, Tver, Vologda, Veliky Novgorod and Tver. theoretically being in the affected area.