In the past weeks the USA they sent missiles in utmost secrecy ATACMS long range in Ukraine and were already used a few days ago, an American official said today.
The missiles were included in a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine approved by the US president Joe Biden on March 12, said the same official who asked to remain anonymous. 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 missile launch ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) with a range of up to 300 km in Ukraine has been the subject of discussion in President Biden’s staff for months. Medium-range ATACMS missiles were delivered to Ukraine last September.
The Pentagon initially opposed granting long-range missiles to Ukraine, arguing that they were irreplaceable 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.
A determining factor in the White House’s decision – according to the same official – was that Russian forces used in Ukraine long-range ballistic missiles supplied by the North Korea, defying US warnings. Continued Russian strikes against Ukrainian critical infrastructure were also factored in. “We had warned her Russia on these issues,” the US official said.
In late January, the Pentagon’s concern about replenishment of long-range missiles to be delivered to Ukraine eased with the acquisition of new ones by industry Lockheed-Martin.
President Biden agreed in mid-February to send long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine after a meeting that included Defense Secretary Lloyd Austinthe head of American diplomacy Anthony Blinken and the National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
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.
Sources: APE-MPE-Reuters-AFP
