Biden administration considers providing Ukraine with advanced ATACMS missiles for increased reach
The White House is considering giving Ukraine ATACMS ballistic missiles with a more extended range.
NBC News writes about this with reference to two unnamed official representatives of the United States.
In October 2023, the United States began supplying Ukraine with ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles. However, these were older medium-range versions, and now Washington is inclined to send missiles with a more extended range, which will allow the Ukrainian military to strike deep into the occupied Crimean peninsula, the interlocutors told NBC News.
At the same time, Pentagon representatives told NBC News that the US has a limited supply of ATACMS and is unlikely to send them to Ukraine without money to replenish American stocks.
Two U.S. officials said that if Congress approves increased funding for Ukraine, the U.S. could include the long-range ATACMS in one of the first military aid packages created with those funds.
The US Department of Defense spokesman confirmed that Washington could not provide Ukraine with weapons without a new draft law on aid financing.
"We will let you know if that changes and if we have a new package to announce," he told reporters.
However, the provision of new arms shipments to Ukraine by the US is still unclear as Republicans in the House of Representatives have expressed opposition. Pro-Trump Republicans have been stating for months that they would support military aid to Ukraine only if the Biden administration agrees to implement a Republican-backed package of border security measures for immigrants.
However, this month, Trump and his allies in the House and Senate rejected a bipartisan compromise bill on border security while helping Ukraine and other US partners.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also said that he devoted most of his meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Munich on February 17 to discussing the need for longer-range weapons.
"I spent much time arguing in favor of ATACMS," he emphasized.
According to the minister, Ukraine needs a missile version that can fly more than 300 kilometers.
"If you want to hit [the Russians] in the rear, disrupt their logistics and supply, destroy their ammunition depots, you can only do that with long-range missiles," he explained.
For the past two years, Joe Biden's administration has balked at sending long-range missiles out of fear that Ukraine would use them to strike Crimea or Russia, leading to an escalation.
However, in September 2023, NBC News, citing three US officials and a congressional official, reported that the White House had promised Ukraine a small batch of ATACMS. Subsequently, the US president confirmed this information. On October 17, the military-political leadership of Ukraine officially announced that Ukraine had received the first long-awaited ATACMS missiles and had successfully deployed them.
The transfer of missiles became known after the attack on the night of October 17: the Defense Forces of Ukraine attacked Russian aircraft and other equipment at airfields near occupied Luhansk and Berdiansk. The special operations forces of Ukraine's armed forces reported that 9 Russian helicopters, special equipment, an air defense launcher, and an ammunition depot were destroyed, and airfield runways were damaged. In addition, the losses in the enemy's human resources amounted to dozens of dead and wounded.
According to the New York Times, the United States has transferred about 20 long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine.
For reference:
ATACMS is a tactical ballistic missile manufactured by the American defense company Lockheed Martin. ATACMS missiles can be installed on M270 MLRS (two missiles) or HIMARS (one missile) installations, which Ukraine already has. Until now, GMLRS projectiles have been delivered to Ukraine for HIMARS systems. ATACMS flight range is up to 300 kilometers.
