Ukraine asks US to send long-range rockets, fighter jets, artillery shells

Ukraine is seeking American F-15 and F-16 fighter jets to enforce a no-fly zone against Russian cruise missiles and bombers, possibly with air-to-air missiles.

Ukraine also wants the Biden administration to provide longer-range U.S. Army Tactical Missile Systems—known as ATACMs—which could hit Russian targets 200 miles away, and Gray Eagle strike drones to counteract the off-the-shelf Iranian drones that have wreaked havoc on Ukrainian lines, Foreign Policy reported on October 10.

On October 10, Ukraine’s top parliamentarian, Ruslan Stefanchuk, sent letters to congressional leadership calling on the United States to prioritize the delivery of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), which are jointly produced with Norway, as well as counter-rocket, mortar, and artillery systems—a clear sign that those defensive weapons had moved up the Ukrainian military priority list ahead of multiple rocket launchers, fighter jets, and long-range rocket systems that Kyiv has been demanding for months.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after a phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden, stated that obtaining air defences was his No. 1 priority.

On October 10, Russia launched cruise and ballistic missile strikes across the country, which targeted civilians and energy infrastructure, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than 87 people.

Following a call with the Ukrainian leader, French President Emmanuel Macron, who has hesitated to send more weapons, called today a profound change.

The German defence ministry pledged that the first of four IRIS-T air defence systems, a truck-mounted infrared missile that can hit targets miles away, would show up in Kyiv “within days.” U.S. officials have also said that some of the eight NASAMS batteries pledged to Ukraine will begin arriving in the coming months, though some of those systems are not available to be pulled out of defence stocks and will need to be manufactured.