The possibility of sending long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine is high, US Senator from Idaho, a member of the Republican Party, James E. Risch, said in his interview with the Voice of America.
According to Risch, US lawmakers continue to pressure the Biden administration to provide Ukraine with all weapons it needs to repel the full-scale Russian invasion and defend itself.
Credit: risch.senate.gov
“I think the possibility [of sending ATACMS missiles to Ukraine – ed.] is quite high. I’ve said from the very beginning [of Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine – ed.] to give Ukraine everything that shoots, as long as it’s not nuclear,” James Risch told the Voice of America on 27 June. “Any other weapons that we have should be made available to the Ukrainians, whether it is F-16 fighters or ATACMS missiles. Everything we have,” Risch stressed.
Risch added that US-made ATACMS missiles are an effective weapon that Ukraine should receive as soon as possible.
A bipartisan resolution calling on the Biden administration to immediately transfer ATACMS to Ukraine has already passed the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs. ATACMS for Ukraine is also mentioned in the House of Representatives version (H. RES. 488) of the US Defense Budget bill.
On 29 May, commenting on Russia’s increasing attacks on Kyiv, US President Joe Biden said that providing ATACMS missiles to Ukraine was “still in play.”
The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is a tactical ballistic missile manufactured by the US defense company Lockheed Martin. It has a range of up to 300 km, with solid propellant. The ATACMS can be fired from the tracked M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and the wheeled M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). Ukraine’s Armed Forces use both of these rocket systems.
Related:
- ATACMS missiles for Ukraine “still in play” – US President Biden
- The US will not provide Ukraine with ATACMS long-range missiles, General Milley says
- UK confirms that Ukraine has been using Storm Shadow missiles
