Ukrainian businesses urged the leaders of the G7 and the EU to provide the Ukrainian defense forces with more weapons, especially long-range ones, to prevent further massive missile attacks on our country by the Russian occupation army. They also demand imposing stricter sanctions on the aggressor.
The appeal addressed to the G7 and the EU was signed by the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs (UUE), the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Independent Association of the Banks of Ukraine, the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, FBN Ukraine, CEO Club Ukraine, Board, the IT Ukraine Association, the Lviv IT cluster, the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club, and others.
"To prevent a humanitarian and economic catastrophe in Ukraine, one that would surely spill into neighboring countries, Western leaders must urgently draw a credible red line over the continued bombardment of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. The Western response should include stronger military support and economic intervention. Specifically, weapons delivery to Ukraine must increase, namely long-range missiles, while radically enhanced sanctions must be imposed on the Russian economy and secondary sanctions introduced to close loopholes currently being exploited by the Kremlin," the appeal says.
The representatives of Ukrainian businesses emphasized that if missile attacks continue, Russian dictator Putin will achieve his goal and deprive tens of millions of Ukrainians of electricity, heat, and water.
The entrepreneurs add that unless the aggressor is stopped now, he will go further and threaten Moldova, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. They argue that the global community has an opportunity to defeat Putin now without sacrificing any of their own troops. The only thing they need is to provide Ukraine with the necessary tools.
Context. Ukraine has been asking the United States to give it ATACMS missiles with a maximum range of 300 km for a long time. They would provide the Ukrainian army with the opportunity to hit Russia’s distant logistic lines, air defense systems, bases, and depots in the east and south of Ukraine, including Crimea. Ukrainian officials said repeatedly that they wouldn’t use ATACMS to attack Russian territory. They added that they also hadn’t done it before despite having such an opportunity with available rockets for HIMARS systems.
The White House doesn’t rule out the possibility that they will eventually give ATACMS to Kyiv. However, the U.S. authorities are still reluctant to give Ukraine long-range missiles. They fear that it would constitute a breach of a "red line" and effectively make Washington a party to the conflict.
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