NATO allies intend to provide Ukraine with new anti-ship weapons on the day the Ukrainian Navy says it successfully attacked a Russian ship off its coast for the first time.
President Joe Biden referred to this assistance when he spoke with NATO allies about the efforts of the United States and its allies to support Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.
“We have begun consultations with allies about providing anti-ship missiles to Ukraine,” a senior administration official told reporters on Thursday.
But the official warned: “There may be some technical issues with this,” adding that “it’s something we’re consulting with allies and starting to work on.”
The announcement comes hours after the Ukrainian Navy announced the destruction of the Russian landing ship Orsk in Berdyansk.
Flames and smoke rise from a Russian Alligator-class landing craft docked in the port of Berdyansk in southern Ukraine after the Kiev navy claimed it had destroyed a ship called the Orsk.
Just a few days ago, he was captured unloading Russian military vehicles in the Black Sea port.
The Russian navy fired missiles at Ukraine from its Black Sea Fleet stationed off the coast of Ukraine, but repelled a dangerous sea attack on the port city of Odessa.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an explicit call to arms during his video address for the summit here, although a senior administration official described his remarks as not a renewal of his request for a no-fly zone.
“On February 24, I made a very clear, logical request to you to help close our skies,” Zelenskiy told the group, according to comments released by the Ukrainians.
“In any format. Protect our people from Russian bombs and missiles. We didn’t get a clear answer. Ukraine does not have powerful anti-missile weapons and has a much smaller fleet of aircraft than Russia. Therefore, their advantage in the sky is similar to the use of weapons of mass destruction.
Then he turned to another weapon.
“You can give us one percent of all your planes. One percent of all your tanks. One percent! We can’t just buy it. Such supply directly depends only on the decisions of NATO, by the way, on political decisions.”
MLRS systems (multiple launch rocket systems). Anti-ship weapons. Air defense equipment. Is it possible to survive in such a war without it? Zelensky said.
“You can give us one percent of all your planes. One percent of all your tanks,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on NATO leaders to provide more weapons to counter the Russian invasion.
According to a senior administration official, NATO allies have begun consultations “on the supply of anti-ship missiles to Ukraine.” Here, President Joe Biden (left), Emmanuel Macron (center) and Boris Johnson (right) speak at the opening of Thursday’s NATO summit.
One vessel was engulfed in flames (left) and two other boats were running (center), at least one of which was also on fire but was able to leave port.
The Russian Navy’s large landing ship Orsk sails through the Bosphorus on its way to the Black Sea in Istanbul, Turkey January 24, 2022. The Ukrainian Navy said on Thursday it had destroyed the ship.
The Orsk will be the largest ship removed by the Ukrainians since Russia launched its invasion last month. Anchored in Berdyansk.
President Joe Biden pointed to the latest tranche of aid in a statement released by the White House.
“Over the past few weeks, the United States has announced new $1 billion in security assistance to Ukraine — anti-aircraft systems, anti-tank weapons, drones and millions of munitions. I applaud the steps taken by many other allies to provide defensive support to Ukraine, and together we are determined to identify additional equipment, including air defense systems, to help Ukraine,” Biden said.
The Biden administration resisted a Ukrainian flight to facilitate the transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets from NATO allies to Ukraine, fearing it could further “escalate” the conflict.
But the allies are looking for many other ways to equip the Ukrainians with anti-tank weapons, anti-aircraft systems, grenade launchers, machine guns and small arms.
The Ukrainian Navy said it carried out a direct hit on the 370-foot Russian Alligator-class tank carrier Orsk while she was at anchor.
Several photos and videos show thick puffs of black smoke rising from the port as one ship lay in the burning harbor and two others sailed away, one of which was also damaged.
The attack, if confirmed, would be Ukraine’s largest successful attempt to destroy an enemy ship.
“We are determined to keep putting the cost on Russia to end this brutal war,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at the start of the conference.
“We will discuss allied support for Ukraine. We will also look to NATO’s efforts to strengthen our defenses now and in the future,” he said.
The list of sanctions is already bearing fruit, with the administration pointing to independent analysis that Russia reversed 15 years of economic gains, 400 private companies left and an estimated 200,000 people emigrated from Russia within a month.
“Russia will soon face a severe shortage of ideas, talent and technology to compete in the 21st century. And Putin will be left with a strategic failure through his own fault,” the official said.