Since the beginning of the war, President of Ukraine Zelenskyj has been demanding more weapons and more advanced systems from the West. Amid concerns about a new Russian attack, NATO countries took an important step this month by promising to procure more than 100 tanks. But the US is now raising the bar and will supply Ukraine with advanced missiles.
The so-called small-scale ground-launched bomb – glsdb. This is a weapon system that gives Ukraine double the range to hit Russian targets.
The system is part of an additional $2 billion military aid package. Its delivery is an important obligation for the Ukrainians and will greatly affect the course of the war.
What is glsdb?
The missile system has been produced by Swedish Saab and American company Boeing since 2015. With the rocket, a bomb can fly up to 150 kilometers and at the same time hit a target with an accuracy of one meter.
Inside there is a navigation system for avoiding obstacles such as mountains, as well as anti-aircraft guns. Additionally, although glsdb has never been used in a combat situation, missiles are cheaper and easier to use than the more advanced ATACM system.
What more does Ukraine want?
Ukrainians began receiving Himar’s systems from the Americans in June. Until now, rockets with a range of eighty kilometers can be fired. In this way, Ukraine succeeded in disrupting the Russian movements far behind the front line. Arms depots were bombed and an attack on Makijivka probably killed hundreds of mobilized Russians.
Ukraine wants the so-called Atacm system, which can fire missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers in recent months. Kyiv, for example, wants to prevent Russia from developing enough strength to launch new attacks. But President Biden fears that the delivery of the Atacm system would be too much of a provocation for Russia.
Then why glsdb?
So glsdb seems like a compromise. “With this they will be able to get out of Donbass everything that Russia is shooting at Ukraine, this is very important,” said Dick Berlin, the former commander-in-chief of the armed forces, on the radio show Sven op 1. Other troop concentrations, command posts or Russian supply lines could be bombed.”
What does this mean for the battlefield?
The Reuters news agency has documentation showing that glsdb will be delivered in the spring and therefore will be available in a relatively short time. International observers and Ukrainian intelligence services take into account that Russia intends to launch a new offensive in the coming months, precisely because a large number of advanced Western weapons and well-equipped tanks are arriving. “That makes sense, too,” Berlin said. “Putin sees that the West is supplying weapons to Ukraine,” he says. “He wants to make a mark before the guns get there.”
Because as soon as glsdb gets there, Russia has to stock up on ammo and supplies for units farther from the front, making new attacks more difficult. “At the moment we cannot hit any facility more than eighty kilometers away,” Ukrainian military analyst Oleksandr Musiyenko told Reuters. “If we can hit them all the way to the border and occupied Crimea, that will limit the offensive capabilities of the Russian forces.”
What does Russia say about the missile?
As an initial reaction, the Kremlin spoke of “further escalation” of the war. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov also says this will not affect Russia’s goals.
Foreign Minister Lavrov added that Russia now has to push Ukraine further back from its border with Russia. “If the regime in Kiev has longer-range weapons, we must remove them further from Russian soil.”
Source: NOS
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
