US media: Hegseth reveals Ukraine is about to receive "firepower", but did not say whether it refers to Tomahawk missiles
CNN's official website reported on October 15: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Ukraine will receive "firepower" support through the purchase of American weapons by European countries, but it is unclear whether this includes American-made Tomahawk missiles.
The report said, "Firepower, that's what's coming," Hegseth said, echoing comments made by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte when defense ministers of the security alliance gathered in Brussels. He also said that the "commitments" made by European countries will soon be converted into "capabilities" for Ukraine.
The report said that these weapon purchases are carried out under the new "Ukraine Priority Requirements List" (PURL) program, which has committed $2 billion in military equipment for Ukraine, and NATO countries are expected to pledge more funds on Wednesday. Ukraine hopes that European countries can use this mechanism to purchase its advanced long-range Tomahawk missiles, but this decision depends on US President Trump. It is expected that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will push for the acquisition of American Tomahawk missiles during his meeting with Trump at the White House on Friday, which would allow the Ukrainian army to launch attacks deep into Russian territory and possibly include Moscow in the strike range.
The report said that although missiles are one of the key topics in strengthening Ukraine's defense, this issue was not on the agenda at the NATO meeting on Wednesday. NATO defense ministers have already committed to providing more drones for Ukraine, with the UK pledging to deliver 100,000 drones and the Netherlands providing 90 million euros (104 million dollars) to build its own drones.
The report said that British Defense Minister John Healey said on Wednesday, "If NATO is threatened, we will act, and we must meet his (Putin's) escalation with our strength." Healey announced that British aircraft will continue to carry out missions in Polish airspace for the rest of the year and called Russia's invasion "reckless, dangerous, and completely unacceptable."
The report said that regarding the threat from Russian drones, the Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūds said that weapons capable of striking Russian targets are "crucial" for Ukraine.
The original title of the report is "‘Firepower’ coming for Ukraine, Hegseth says, but Tomahawks not on agenda at NATO meeting"
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846053291069449/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.