US considers supplying ATACMS to Ukraine: Ambassador Markarova notes positive shift in rhetoric

The United States of America has "changed the tone" on the issue of supplying ATACMS long-range missiles to Ukraine.

Ukrainian Ambassador to the USA Oksana Markarova said this in an interview with The Page.

"Before that, all the answers sounded like 'just forget it.' Now we heard for the first time that the issue is being discussed," the Ukrainian diplomat said.

Markarova emphasized that there are no insurmountable red lines when it comes to supplying weapons to Ukraine. However, she noted that several factors come into play and influence the decisions made by Ukraine's partners.

"There are a lot of opportunities to which we first heard no, and then we heard yes. It's not always because there was a clear no, which changed to a clear yes. This is because there is a large set of factors to obtain each capability," the ambassador said.

Markarova added that one of the critical factors in the supply of missiles is the political readiness of the United States. She said it was essential to analyze the number of missiles, military training, weapons integration with those in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and production complex and logistics. According to the Ukrainian ambassador, it is essential that not only the United States have these missiles but also other partners of Ukraine.

ATACMS is an American short-range ballistic missile manufactured by Lockheed Martin. It can be installed on M270 MLRS (2 missiles) or M142 HIMARS (1 rocket). It has a range of up to 300 km. In April, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said that the United States would not supply long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine but was considering other options to give the Armed Forces more battlefield capabilities. However, at the end of May, US President Joe Biden officially announced the replacement of US Chief of Staff Mark Milley with Charles Brown.

The Ukrainian military and political leadership emphasized that Ukraine's Armed Forces needed long-range weapons to win the war. The partners did not want to provide Ukraine with such weapons for a long time. They feared that the military could use it to attack the territory of the Russian Federation.

As Rubryka reported, recently, the US rhetoric regarding ATACMS has changed. In particular, American congress members submitted a resolution to the parliament calling on the Biden administration to provide Ukraine with these missiles.

Ukraine also received long-range Storm Shadow missiles from Great Britain. Ukraine's Ministry of Defense notes that the rockets hit 100% of all targets identified by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.