US quietly shipped long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine
long-range missiles to Ukraine for use in its battle to fight off Russian invaders, and Ukraine has now used them twice, a US official said on Wednesday.
The missiles were contained in a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine that US President Joe Biden approved on March 12, said the US official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official would not say how many of the missiles were sent.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, at a briefing for reporters, confirmed that a «significant number» of the missiles had been sent to Ukraine and said «we will send more.»
He said Ukraine has committed to only use the weapons inside Ukraine, not in Russia.
Some of the missiles were contained in a $1 billion weapons package for Ukraine that President Joe Biden approved on Wednesday, Sullivan said.
The missiles were used for the first time in the early hours of April 17, launched against a Russian airfield in Crimea that was about 165 km (103 miles) from the Ukrainian front lines, the official said.
The official said Ukraine used the weapon a second time overnight against Russian forces in southeastern Ukraine.
Whether to send the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) with a range up to 300 km was a subject of debate within the Biden administration for months. Mid-range ATACMS were supplied last September.
The Pentagon initially opposed the long-range missile deployment, fearing the loss of the missiles from the American stockpile would hurt US military readiness. There were also concerns that
