The USA they sent in utmost secrecy long-range ATACMS missiles in Ukraine the previous weeks and were already used a few days ago, an American official said today (24/04).
The rocketsas reported by APE-MPE, were included in $300 million military aid package for Ukraine, which US President Joe Biden endorsed on March 12, the same official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He did not specify the number of missiles delivered.
Missiles of this type were first used in the early hours of April 17 in a Ukrainian attack on a Russian military airfield on the Crimean peninsula, the US official said.
The ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) missile mission with range up to 300 km in Ukraine had been the subject of discussion in President Biden’s staff for months. Medium-range ATACMS missiles were delivered to Ukraine last September.
The Pentagon he initially opposed granting long-range missiles to Ukraine, believing them to be unaffordable and would degrade US military readiness. At the same time, there were concerns that Ukraine would use them to hit targets on Russian soil, far from the border.
The Russians used missiles from North Korea
A determining factor in the White House’s decision – according to the same official – was that theRussian forces used North Korean-supplied long-range ballistic missiles in Ukraine, defying US warnings. Continued Russian strikes against Ukrainian critical infrastructure were also factored in. “We had warned Russia about these issues,” the US official said.
In late January, the Pentagon’s concern about replenishment of long-range missiles to be delivered to Ukraine was eased, with the acquisition of new ones from the Lockheed-Martin industry.
The president Biden agreed in mid-February to send long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, following a meeting that included Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, among others.
The thorn at the time was that funding options had been exhausted with gridlock in Congress preventing further aid for Ukraine from being approved.
The golden ratio was finally found in March, with President Biden calling for long-range ATACMS missiles to be sent to Ukraine in top secrecy, both for security reasons and to maintain the element of surprise, the same official explained.
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