Pavlo Klimkin, diplomat and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2014-2019), explained why the West is slow to raise the stakes in providing long-range weapons to Ukraine in an interview on the "Espreso" channel.
"The West, unfortunately, is very slow to raise the stakes (in providing long-range weapons to Ukraine). Obviously, now the West will consult on the response. We need to understand what the Americans will say, as they have such missiles that can effectively work on Russian targets, and this involves Americans, Germans, and some other partners. But the response depends mainly on the Americans," noted Klimkin.
He emphasized the need to engage in strategic talks with the Americans at this point.
"Of course, they will once again calculate the possibility of escalation, the technical use of these missiles, and many other things. But long-range weapons are one of the critical issues along with various types of drones that we need," the diplomat stated.
Klimkin discussed the specific weapons and missiles needed to destroy the launch sites and installations in Russia.
"It should be noted that these missiles are launched from ships in the Black Sea. We will be able to reach these ships if we have more precision weapons, including cruise missiles. This is a very important aspect, but these missiles are also launched, for example, from Russian planes located on the territory of Russia or the Caspian Sea. To effectively reach them, we need different weapons. Taurus missiles will not be enough," he concluded.
