US Secretly Armed Ukraine With Long-Range ATACMS Last Month

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

The US confirmed on Wednesday that it had secretly sent Ukraine long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) last month as part of a $300 million arms package.

The long-range ATACMS can be fired from the HIMARS rocket systems and can hit targets up to 190 miles away, a range that marks a significant escalation in US support for Ukraine.

An M270 firing an ATACMS, US Army image

Last year, the US secretly shipped an older cluster bomb variant of the ATACMS that has a range of about 100 miles. Previously the Pentagon signaled it was intentionally limiting ranges of missiles shipped to Ukraine.

A Biden administration official said Ukraine has already used the longer-range ATACMS twice, including in an attack on a Russian base in Crimea. US-supported attacks on Crimea or the Russian mainland always risk a major escalation from Moscow.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said a “significant number” of the ATACMS have been sent to Ukraine but wouldn’t specify how many.

He said more were on the way as part of a $1 billion arms package that President Biden approved on Wednesday, although the Pentagon didn’t list ATACMS when it announced the weapons shipment.

The $95 billion foreign military aid bill President Biden signed into law on Wednesday included a provision that said Ukraine would be sent long-range ATACMS.

In response to that news, the Kremlin reaffirmed its long-stated position that it will take more territory in Ukraine to counteract the long-range NATO missiles.