Russia will need to push Ukrainian forces further back and expand what it regards as a "buffer zone" if Kyiv takes delivery of advanced longer-range ATACM guided missile systems from the United States, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
The White House last October said it had provided Kyiv with a type of ATACMS capable of hitting targets up to 165 kilometers (102 miles) away. But a new US package being prepared now after a long-delayed aid bill was approved by Congress is expected to include a longer 300 km (186-mile) range type.
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Kyiv would be receiving the long-range ATACMS and thanked Washington.
That raises the prospect of Ukraine using those missiles to strike targets deeper inside territory controlled by Russian forces, particularly in Russian-annexed Crimea.
The ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) are mounted on trucks and can travel at speeds of Mach 3, considerably faster than British and French cruise missiles currently in Ukraine's armory.