[RYAN ROBERTSON]

GERMANY’S LATEST MILITARY INNOVATION COULD BE A GAME-CHANGER FOR UKRAINE. THEY’VE DEVELOPED A PROTOTYPE ARTILLERY SHELL WITH A FIRING RANGE OF UP TO 62 MILES—A HUGE LEAP FROM THE CURRENT 155 MM ROUNDS THAT REACH JUST 20 MILES. 

MOST OF THE DETAILS ABOUT THE PROTOTYPE ROUND REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL, BUT HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW. GERMAN MEDIA IS REPORTING RHEINMETALL, THE COUNTRY’S LARGEST ARMS MAKER, WILL DEPLOY THE LONGER-RANGE SHELLS TO UKRAINE SOMETIME THIS YEAR. 

THE MOVE WILL ENHANCE BOTH UKRAINE’S DEFENSIVE AND OFFENSIVE ARTILLERY CAPABILITIES…WHILE AT THE SAME TIME HELPS THE UKRAINIANS TRANSITION FROM SOVIET ERA ARTILLERY TO MORE NATO STANDARD WEAPONRY.

THERE IS PLENTY OF 21ST CENTURY TECH BEING DEPLOYED IN UKRAINE–

BUT ARTILLERY REMAINS A CRUCIAL COMPONENT. 

AND WITH THESE NEW LONG-RANGE SYSTEMS–UKRAINE WILL BE ABLE TO HIT RUSSIAN TARGETS FROM A FAR ENOUGH DISTANCE–THE CANNONS LAUNCHING THE ROUNDS WON’T BE IN DANGER OF A RUSSIAN RETURN VOLLEY. 

SO, RUSSIAN SUPPLY LINES, TROOP FORMATIONS, COMMAND AND CONTROL CENTERS…ARE ALL BACK ON THE TABLE OF FEASIBLE TARGETS.  

FRANCE AND THE U-S ARE ALSO HEADING UP AN ‘ARTILLERY COALITION’ OF NATIONS WORKING TO BUILD UP MORE OF UKRAINE’S ARTILLERY CAPABILITIES. FRANCE SAID IT WOULD SUPPLY UKRAINE WITH 72 CAESAR HOWITZER SYSTEMS THIS YEAR.

FRANCE IS ALSO GIVING UKRAINE AROUND 3-THOUSAND 155MM SHELLS EVERY MONTH AND HAS BEEN SINCE FEBRUARY.

THE U-S DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SAYS — MORE THAN 54 COUNTRIES ALREADY DELIVERED OR PLEDGED MORE THAN 800 ARTILLERY SYSTEMS, AND DELIVERED MORE THAN 2 MILLION ROUNDS OF ARTILLERY AMMUNITION — AMONG OTHER WEAPONS SYSTEMS.

THE ARTILLERY COALITION IS ALIGNED WITH A BROADER EUROPEAN UNION PLAN TO SUPPLY UKRAINE WITH A MILLION ARTILLERY ROUNDS BY THE END OF SPRING…
THE EU AND ITS MEMBER STATES GRANTED UKRAINE 156 BILLION DOLLARS IN MILITARY, FINANCIAL, AND HUMANITARIAN AID SINCE THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR BEGAN IN 2022.

US SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN WAS IN KYIV TUESDAY.
HIS TRIP COMES JUST DAYS AFTER RUSSIA LAUNCHED A GROUND OFFENSIVE INTO THE NORTHERN REGION OF KHARKIV.

UKRAINE IS FACING PLENTY OF CHALLENGES ON THE BATTLEFIELD, WITH RUSSIAN TROOPS GRADUALLY ADVANCING. THE SHORTAGES OF MANPOWER AND MONTHS-LONG DELAY IN ADDITIONAL WESTERN AID DIDN’T HELP.

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FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M RYAN ROBERTSON