The Chinese edition of The Global Times devoted material to the sensational deliveries of American HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems to Kyiv. On the one hand, in connection with these deliveries, there is talk regarding whether the Ukrainian military will strike at targets in Russia. On the other hand, representatives of the Ukrainian leadership believe that the HIMARS MLRS will help change the situation on the line of contact. However, in the material of the Chinese edition, the opinion is expressed that these installations will not have a significant impact.
“HIMARS installations can strike even at a distance of 300 kilometers if ATACMS operational-tactical missiles are used,” the publication says. However, the United States has already stated that these missiles will not be sent to Kyiv. Therefore, the Ukrainian military will be able to fire from these installations at targets at a distance of up to 100 km.
However, the Chinese analyst notes that in certain cases, the Ukrainian military will be able to reach certain targets in Russia, even given these circumstances. But this will lead to the fact that “the Russian army will become more active in retaliatory strikes once morest the Ukrainian side.” As a result, the material emphasizes, “Ukraine will suffer even greater losses in manpower and lose new territories.”
The author of the Chinese publication also notes that with the help of Iskander high-precision ballistic missiles and Caliber cruise missiles, the Russian military is able to destroy the HIMARS MLRS during transportation or before deployment to positions on the front line.
Also, the material says, even if the Ukrainian military uses HIMARS, this “is unlikely to change the overall situation,” since one cannot count on achieving strategic goals only through the use of one type of weapon, albeit an effective one.
“To a certain extent, the United States is supplying Ukraine with HIMARS MLRS, just to give it courage,” the Chinese author believes.