In its continuation of ramping up the Ukraine war to espouse the wish of its Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to “weaken Russia,” Washington continues to provoke Russia with its latest weapons package that includes ground-launched small-diameter bombs in its $2.17 billion package.

These bombs have a range of 94 miles, which doubles Ukraine’s Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, which has a range of 53 miles and is produced by Boeing. The bomb is made up of a precision-guided 250-pound bomb strapped to a rocket motor and fired from a ground launcher, Politico reported.

Oleskii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister, said Kyiv is prepared to offer guarantees that the latest round of weapons would not be used to fire inside Russia. Reuters reported that Washington has “rebuffed Ukraine’s requests for the 185-mile range ATACMS missile.”

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s top diplomat, said these longer-range bombs will only prolong the war and will result in Moscow overrunning more land to “push back Ukrainian army artillery to a distance that will not pose a threat to our territories.”

“The greater the range of the weapons supplied to the Kyiv regime, the more we will have to push them back from territories which are part of our country,” Lavrov said. 

The package includes:

● Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);

● Additional 155mm artillery rounds;

● Additional 120mm mortar rounds;

● 190 heavy machine guns with thermal imagery sights and associated ammunition to counter Unmanned Aerial Systems;

● 181 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles;

● 250 Javelin anti-armor systems;

● 2,000 anti-armor rockets;

● Claymore anti-personnel munitions;

● Demolitions munitions;

● Cold weather gear, helmets, and other field equipment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took to Twitter to thank the U.S. for the latest weapon injection and said Ukraine stands with the U.S. against “terror.” 

“The more long-range our weapons are and the more mobile our troops are the sooner Russia’s brutal aggression will end,” he said.

The latest authorization includes a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $425 million, as well as $1.75 billion in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds.

TRENDPOST: The Trends Journal has reported extensively on how WWIII has begun, but it will only become official after a major false flag event or a nuclear blast. (See “RUSSIA SENDS WARNING TO ISRAEL OVER DRONE ATTACK, HINTS THAT U.S. WAS INVOLVED” 31 Jan 2023, “GERMANY’S CHIEF WAR HAWK CONFIRMS CELENTE’S FORECAST: EUROPE IS AT WAR WITH RUSSIA” 31 Jan 2023 and “DUTCH PM SELLS DOMINO THEORY WAR HYPE: RUSSIA WON’T STOP AT UKRAINE” 24 Jan 2023.)

There seems to be no weapon that is off-limits. Indeed, President Joe Biden once told White House reporters that American tanks in Ukraine means “WWIII,” but as we reported, he announced last month that the U.S. will be sending Ukraine M1 Abrams tanks. 

Dmitry Peskov said Russia “categorically” disagrees with comments from the West stating that these weapon shipments do not mean direct conflict with Moscow.

“In Moscow, everything that the alliance and the capitals I mentioned are doing is seen as direct involvement in the conflict. We see that this is growing,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, while marking the 80th anniversary of completion of the Battle of Stalingrad last week, said those who hope to defeat Russia do not understand that modern war with Russia will be very different from the result for Germany in WWII.

“We are not sending our tanks to their borders, but we have the means to respond. It won’t be limited to the use of armored hardware. Everyone must understand this,” he said.