The US modified the advanced High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers (HIMARS) it gave to Ukraine to deter their forces from firing long-range missiles into Russia, officials told the Wall Street Journal.
The Biden administration deemed the step necessary to reduce the risk of a prolonged and wider war with Moscow.
The US has supplied Ukrainian forces with 20 Himars rockets along with a large inventory of satellite-guided rockets with a range of almost 81 kms since June, the WSJ report said. The satellite-guided rockets are also known as Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS).
The Ukrainian forces have used the GMLRSs to target Russian ammunition depots, logistics supplies and command centres inside Ukraine.
The Pentagon officials told the WSJ that HIMARS launchers have a unique feature which can prevent them from firing long-range missiles including the US Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) rockets. These rockets have a range of 322 kilometres.
The modifications were disclosed recently and shows that the Biden administration is seeking to avoid a full-scale conflict with Russia while supporting Ukrainian resistance.
The WSJ report said that it is also indicative that US officials are apprehensive about Ukraine not sticking to its promise of striking Russian territory with US-made weapons.
The software and hardware of the launchers were modified to prevent them from firing at long-range targets.
The US has not supplied Ukraine with ATACMS but Ukraine could still choose to acquire them from some other nation who may have purchased these rockets from the US.
However, the modifications to the launchers mean that even if Ukraine is able to get ATACMS missiles, it cannot fire them from the HIMARS launchers which now have been modified.
The US has gradually expanded the types and categories of weapons it supplied to Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict.
The Ukrainian forces in the initial phases of the war depended on shoulder-fired Javelin antitank missiles and now has access to Stinger antiaircraft missiles, M777 howitzers, High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM), Harpoon antiship missiles and a shore-based launcher among other weaponry.
The Pentagon also supplied HIMARS and GMLRS as mentioned above.
The Biden administration said it would not be sending Gray Eagle MQ-1C drones as they fear it could be used to strike targets inside Russia.
Russia earlier warned the US to not provide long-range missiles to Ukraine. “If Washington decides to supply longer-range missiles to Kyiv, then it will be crossing a red line and will become a direct party to the conflict,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier this year.
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