UK to send US-made rocket systems to Ukraine

LONDON — Britain says it will send sophisticated medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine, in a move coordinated with the United States.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says the U.K. will send an unspecified number of M270 launchers, which can send precision-guided rockets up to 80 kilometers (50 miles).

Britain says the decision has been coordinated closely with a U.S. decision to send Ukraine High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. The two missile systems are similar, though the American one has wheels while the British one — also U.S.-built — runs on tracks.

Britain says Ukrainian troops will be trained in the U.K. to use the equipment.

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Ukraine has implored its Western allies to send longer-range missiles to help it counter Russian artillery assaults in the eastern Donbas region, the focus of Moscow’s offensive.

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The U.S. said Ukraine has promised not to launch the weapons into Russia. But Russia accused Washington of “pouring fuel on the fire” of the conflict.