Pentagon official admits Ukraine's need for long-range missiles and stresses difficulty of Abrams tank maintenance

The American official said this at a briefing in Kyiv, Hromadske reports.

He noted that it is important to talk not about a specific type of long-range missiles, but about Ukraine's request to provide weapons capable of reaching long-range targets, in general.

"Without going into details, I would just say that we recognize this requirement (for long-range missiles - ed.) at the current stage, and we need to think about how to help Ukraine overcome this challenge," said Colin Kahl.

As for the US Abrams tanks, the official emphasized that they are "very complex and expensive equipment that is very difficult to maintain, so it is not clear whether they are the best answer."

The US will continue discussions on the types and number of Western tanks that Ukraine needs, Colin Kahl added.

• On January 16, the delegation from the USA headed by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman arrived in Ukraine. High-ranking officials met with the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Prime Minister, where they heard first-hand about the situation at the front and in the economy, and also held a briefing for journalists.