The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) threaten to sink the Russian Black Sea Fleet with the help of Western weapons before Kyiv proceeds to conquering Crimea back, Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Gavrilov said in an interview for The Times.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine have started "cleansing" the Black Sea after the Russian military left Snake Island, the official added. However, until now, the Ukrainian army has not dared to engage in open combat, Gavrilov stressed, because it did not have a sufficient amount of required weapons at its disposal.
On July 8, Washington announced another $400 million military aid package for Ukraine. In addition, the United States intends to transfer four HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) with a range of 300 kilometers, ammunition and artillery shells, as well as other weapons.
Kyiv promised not to use the MLRS to strike targets in Russia. Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov assured that Kyiv would use MLRS systems only to contain the Russian troops, as well as to "de-occupy” the territories of Ukraine.