U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Co-chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, issued the following statement today urging the Biden administration to immediately provide Ukraine with the Multiple Launch Rocket System, or MLRS. Portman is traveling through Europe where he is meeting with senior U.S. military leaders and allies in the region regarding the war in Ukraine. He was in Stuttgart, Germany, earlier today where he met with leadership of the United States European Command before traveling to Bucharest, Romania, for a series of meetings with Romanian officials.
“I urge the administration to immediately provide Ukraine with the multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) that Ukraine has requested. This has been one of President Zelenskyy’s top requests from the West for some time and we must provide it urgently. After my briefings at EUCOM today, it is clear that, although the Ukrainians are fighting bravely in the east, they are outgunned by the Russians. These MLRS systems can help balance the field in Ukraine’s favor.
“As I said in my speech on the Senate floor this week, this administration must not deter itself from providing assistance to Ukraine for fear of ‘provoking’ Russia. Russia’s illegal and continuing invasion of Ukraine is the provocation, not our provision of lethal military assistance. We are entirely justified to respond by helping Ukraine defeat Russia’s onslaught. The U.S. and our allies must give Ukraine the tools it needs to win this war.”
Original source can be found here.
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