The US has secretly provided Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles in recent weeks, according to reports from Reuters, Associated Press, and Politico citing American officials.
According to a Reuters source, the missiles were included in a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine approved on 12 March. The source did not specify how many missiles were sent.
Ukrainian forces have used the long-range missiles twice so far: first on 17 April against a Russian military base in occupied Crimea, located about 165 km from Ukraine’s front lines, and more recently against Russian forces near the Sea of Azov, the senior administration official told Politico.
AP’s sources said a “significant” number of ATACMS were delivered in March, with more missiles to be provided in the new military aid package the Pentagon announced on Wednesday.
While the Pentagon’s latest aid list does not explicitly mention ATACMS, the “additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)” could imply the long-range ATACMS variants.
Medium-range ATACMS were first supplied to Ukraine in September 2022, Reuters notes. The US had initially opposed providing the longer-range 300 km missiles, fearing Kyiv could use them to strike targets inside Russia.
Having long-range ATACMS in its arsenal allows Ukraine to threaten Russian assets throughout Crimea and the Black Sea Fleet.
Read more:
- AP: Biden signs $95 billion war aid measure with aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan
- US Senate advances Ukraine aid bill as Pentagon set to send $ 1 bn package once bill clears Senate and Biden
- Much of US military aid for Ukraine is already in Germany and Poland – CNN
- Ukraine destroys Russia’s Dzhankoi helicopter base air defenses, enabling further deep strikes on occupied Crimea
