Interviewer: Many high-level officials have discussed this issue, the most recent being Andriy Yermak, reminding his US counterpart, Jake Sullivan, that Ukraine requires long-range HIMARS (ATACMS) capable of striking further than the [current] 80 km systems that Ukraine has already been provided. They require long-range HIMARS capable of hitting targets at 270 kilometers.This, however, is nothing new. Discussions on this subject have been going on for over three months. Nonetheless, the US has expressed its satisfaction with the Ukrainian military and its ability to effectively employ HIMARS to date. So, who and for what reason, in the highest echelons of the White House, is frightened of handing Ukraine longer and more lethal artillery, as it has requested for the last three months?
Valery Chaly: Everyone feels that, in theory, the only way to win now is by strong military means. But, on the front, extremely difficult victories are being fought. So, of course, we talk about these things rather openly, which yields results.
When a government official says Ukraine requires a specific piece of weaponry, look, in my opinion, pretty much every Ukrainian knows that we need them. You don’t have to be an official to know this.
Jake Sullivan, Yermak’s counterpart in Washington, has established very consistent contact, occuring on a regular basis. It is no longer just the two of them but also, as I recall, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmitro Kuleba, and the leader of the military forces, Valerii Zaluzhyi. Negotiations are well underway, but Sullivan has publicly declared his opposition to such a choice [granting Ukraine long-term weapons], and he has reported his opinion to the President.