National Security Advisor to the US President Jake Sullivan also confirmed that long-range ATACMS missiles have already been transferred to Ukraine.
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Biden in February ordered the transfer of a significant number of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. They were handed over in March. The United States will continue to supply these missiles to Ukraine, Sullivan said at a briefing on April 24.
The White House admitted that due to the delay in aid, Ukraine lost Avdiivka.
The US National Security Adviser added that today’s billion-dollar US military aid package “is a great innovation for Ukraine,” but the Ukrainian Armed Forces are still under severe pressure on the battlefield.
Previously, the Biden administration had long doubted whether to transfer missiles with a range of up to 300 km to Ukraine. In particular, because of fears that it would weaken the US military arsenal, and also that Ukraine would use these weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia.
A Reuters source indicates that the change in Washington’s position was led to the use of North Korean missiles by the Russian army and Russian strikes on the most important Ukrainian infrastructure facilities.
The United States has secretly sent long-range ballistic missiles to Ukraine for the first time and they have already been used on the battlefield, US officials said Wednesday.
Background
Joe Biden approved delivery of the Army’s long-range tactical missile system, known as ATACMS, in early March, and the US included a significant number of them in a $300 million aid package announced at the time.
The new missiles, long sought by Ukrainian leaders, give the country nearly twice the range – up to 190 miles – of the medium-range version it received from the US last October.
Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity from The Telegraph, did not provide the exact number of missiles provided last month or in the latest aid package, which totals about a billion dollars.
The long-range ATACMS was used by Ukraine to bomb a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week.
Information about the shipment has been so suppressed that politicians and others have pressed the U.S. in recent days to send the weapons without knowing they were already in Ukraine.
For months, the United States has resisted sending long-range missiles to Ukraine out of concern that Kyiv could use them to strike Russian territory, angering Moscow and deepening the conflict. That was a key reason why the administration sent a mid-range version with a range of about 100 miles in October.
A senior U.S. military official said Wednesday that the White House and military planners took a hard look at the risks of providing Ukraine with long-range weapons and decided the time to provide them is now.
Adm. Christopher Grady, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview with The Associated Press that long-range weapons would help Ukraine destroy Russian logistics hubs and concentrations of troops not on the front line. He declined to say what kind of weapon was provided, but said it would be “very destructive if used properly, and I’m sure it will be.”
Like many other sophisticated weapons systems provided to Ukraine, the administration was weighing whether their use would further escalate the conflict.
Ukrainian officials have not publicly acknowledged receipt or use of long-range ATACMS. But after thanking Congress for passing the new relief bill on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Twitter that “Ukraine’s long-range capabilities, artillery and air defense are extremely important tools for quickly restoring a just world.”
One US official said the Biden administration warned Russia last year that if Moscow used long-range ballistic missiles in Ukraine, Washington would provide the same capabilities to Kyiv.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.