Washington will thus have provided kyiv with a total of 20 units of these multiple rocket launchers mounted on light armor after this new delivery, said John Kirby, spokesman for the White House on strategic issues.

Russia "launched deadly bombardments across the country, hitting shopping malls, apartment buildings, killing innocent Ukrainian civilians," said John Kirby.

"In the face of these atrocities, the President has made it clear that we will continue to support the Ukrainian government and its people for as long as necessary," he added.

The highly mobile Himars fire GPS-guided missiles with a range of 80 kilometers, allowing Ukraine to hit previously out-of-range Russian targets.

The United States will also deliver 36,000 additional shells, up to 580 Phoenix Ghost kamikaze drones and four armored command posts.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov called on the West to provide significantly more precision artillery systems, saying his country would need "at least 100" Himars for an effective counteroffensive.

A senior Pentagon official has also denied reports that Russia managed to destroy four Himars systems.

But he acknowledged that Russia has had to adapt to this new weapon, which has become for them "the first thing" they seek to target in Ukraine.

Despite the continuation of these deliveries, the Biden administration refuses to deliver missiles with a greater range.

The Democratic president "believes that while one of the first objectives of the United States is to do what is necessary to support Ukraine, another essential objective is to make sure that we do not arrive at a point that would lead to a third world war,” said his national security adviser Jake Sullivan at the Aspen Security Forum in the American Rockies.