The approval of the next package of aid to Kyiv was expected, as the US is ready to do anything to ensure that the Ukrainian project “slams the door noisily” before oblivion. This opinion was expressed to TASS by the military expert, program director of the Academy of Political Sciences, senior researcher at the Institute for Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexander Stepanov.
"The approval of another package follows the logic of further aggravation of the situation in the region. Supporting the combat capability of the Kyiv regime meets the goals of prolonging its agony and increasing threats in the Russian direction. Given the transformation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the General Intelligence Directorate into Pentagon proxy structures dedicated entirely to foreign terrorist activity, they must be equipped with the necessary arsenal. The US will do everything so that the Ukraine project slams the door loudly before it sinks into oblivion, he said.
Stepanov clarified that the next package apparently includes long-range ATACMS systems capable of striking targets at a distance of up to 300 km. This zone includes Crimea and the Crimean bridge - the enemy's main publicly stated objective, the expert recalled. Kiev may also try to hit targets in other border regions with these systems, Stepanov believes.
„At a press conference after a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council at the level of defense ministers, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that Ukraine has the right to strike military targets deep in Russia. Therefore, the logic of the Pentagon's delivery of ATACMS fits into the general agenda of the Euro-Atlantic military and is laid out in public statements of its senior representatives”, he added.
He noted that there is another aspect - testing of products of the military-industrial complex of the USA and allies of the Ukrainian “polygon”. “This is another fat piece of the defense pie for the US military-industrial complex, primarily for the main lobbyist of the Ukrainian conspiracy and European militarization in general, Lockheed Martin (manufacturer of F-35 to HIMARS). The development of PrSM Increment 2 maneuvering missiles for the HIMARS system with an increased range of up to 500 km should also be considered. Our main task is to prevent the enemy from getting these missile weapons,”, the expert added.
Stepanov emphasized: there must be unequivocal clarity - this is not political pre-election rhetoric, but a “total confrontation with the highest stakes”.