NATO will provide Ukraine with anti-shipper missiles.

On Thursday, a high American official confirmed that NATO allies could hand over anti-ship missiles to Ukraine's Armed Forces, providing Ukraine with new means of defence against a Russian invasion that has been going on for more than a month.

NATO launched consultations with allies on delivery of anti-ship missiles to Ukraine. The U.S. official reported that some technical challenges may arise in order to achieve this goal, "we are consulting and working on this issue with allies," he added.

The official did not specifywhat type of anti-shipper missile is being considered. He added that in early February Ukraine reached an agreement with the United Kingdom to provide unspecified anti-ship missiles.

Probably the subject of negotiations may have been Naval Strike Missile (NSM) missiles, used by the British and US Marine Forces.

The Atlantic Council recently recommended equipping the Armed Forces of Ukraine with a similar weapon system.

Thursday The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Żeleński at a joint meeting of NATO Member States called for more weapons, including tanks, fighters, anti-aircraft systems and anti-ship missiles. For political reasons, it was difficult to organise the transport of jet aircraft and long-range anti-aircraft systems, and the public transfer of so much needed systems has not yet taken place.

A message about the possible transport of anti-shipper missiles appeared on the same day as the first confirmed loss of the Russian Navy ship in the Ukrainian conflict. On Thursday morning, the Russian "Orsk" landing ship exploded and burned down, destroyed by Ukrainian forces in the Russian-occupied Berdian port.

Until now, the only confirmed cases of the use of anti-ship missiles in conflict concern their use by the Russian Navy. They were used, among other things, against the trade fleet of neutral states and to destroy permanent land facilities in Ukraine.

Author: SP