UK to send US-made rocket systems to Ukraine

Britain says it will send sophisticated medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine, in a move coordinated with the United States.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says the UK will send an unspecified number of M270 launchers, which can send precision-guided rockets up to 80 kilometers (50 miles).

Britain says the decision has been coordinated closely with a US decision to send Ukraine High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. The two missile systems are similar, though the American one has wheels while the British one — also US-built — runs on tracks.

Britain says Ukrainian troops will be trained in the UK to use the equipment.

Ukraine has implored its Western allies to send longer-range missiles to help it counter Russian artillery assaults in the eastern Donbas region, the focus of Moscow’s offensive.

The US said Ukraine has promised not to launch the weapons into Russia. But Russia accused Washington of “pouring fuel on the fire” of the conflict.