WASHINGTON (AP) – Ukraine begins using long-range ballistic missiles for the first time secretly provided by the USwhich last week bombed a Russian military airfield in Crimea, and Russian forces bombed another occupied territory overnight, American officials announced Wednesday.
The new missile, long sought by Ukrainian leaders, would give Ukraine a range of up to 300 kilometers (190 miles), almost double the intermediate-range weapon it received from the United States last October. can. One of the officials said the US is offering more of these missiles in new missile development. Military aid package signed by President Joe Biden on wednesday.
Biden approved the delivery of the Army's long-range tactical missile system, known as ATACMS, in February, and later included “a significant number” of the missile systems in a $300 million aid package announced by the United States in March. officials said.
Two U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity about the deliveries ahead of publication, but declined to say exactly how many missiles were delivered last month or in the latest aid package. Approximately $1 billion in total.
Ukraine is forced to ration weapons; Russian attacks intensify. Ukraine had been begging for the long-range system because the missile would provide a significant capability to attack Russian targets at greater distances, allowing Ukrainian forces to remain safely out of range.
Information about the shipment was so secret that lawmakers in recent days have been demanding that the U.S. send the weapons without knowing that they were already in Ukraine.
The United States has been targeting Ukraine with long-range missiles for several months, concerned that Kiev could use long-range missiles to strike deep into Russian territory, enraging Moscow and escalating the conflict. I have resisted sending it. That was the main reason the administration instead sent a medium-range version in October, with a range of about 160 kilometers (about 100 miles).
Adm. Christopher Grady, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday that the White House and military planners have carefully considered the risks of providing long-range fires to Ukraine and that now is the right time to do so. He said he had decided.
He told The Associated Press in an interview that long-range weapons would help Ukraine eliminate Russian logistics centers and troop concentrations that are not on the front lines. Grady did not say specifically what weapons were provided, but said they “would be very destructive if used properly, and I have no doubt they would be.” “There is,” he said.
As with many other advanced weapons systems provided to Ukraine, the administration considered whether their use risked further escalating the conflict. According to one U.S. official, the administration continues to make clear that the weapons cannot be used to attack targets inside Russia, but only against targets inside Ukrainian territory.
“I think now is the right time, and my boss (Biden) has decided it's the right time to provide these based on the current state of the fight,” Grady said Wednesday. “I think this was a very well-considered decision and we thought it through very seriously, but again, any time you introduce a new system or change to the battlefield, you always consider the escalatory nature of it. You have to think about it.”
Ukrainian authorities have not publicly acknowledged receipt or use of long-range ATACMS. However, Ukraine's president expressed gratitude to parliament for passing the new aid bill on Tuesday. Volodymyr Zelensky pointed out that On social platform
The Biden administration warned Russia last year that if Russia acquired long-range ballistic missiles and used them in Ukraine, the United States would provide similar capabilities to Kiev, one U.S. official said.
The official said Russia obtained some of these weapons from North Korea and used them on the battlefield in Ukraine, giving the Biden administration the green light to develop new long-range missiles.
The United States had refused to confirm that the long-range missiles had actually been used in the battlefield and had been delivered to Ukraine until Kiev's leadership approved their release. One official said the weapon was used to attack an airfield in the city of Djankoy early last week. crimea, a peninsula that Russia captured from Ukraine in 2014. It was used again overnight east of the occupied city of Berdyansk.
Video posted on social media last week showed an explosion at a military airfield, but officials at the time denied it was caused by ATACMS.
Ukraine first used the weapon after approval was delayed due to political deadlock in Congress. $95 billion foreign aid package For several months, including funding to Ukraine, Israel and other allies. Ukraine, which faces severe shortages of artillery and air defense systems, is rationing ammunition as US funding lags.
As the war enters its third year, Russia has stepped up attacks across eastern Ukraine, taking advantage of delays in U.S. weapons deliveries and its superiority in firepower and manpower. It is increasingly using satellite-guided glide bombs, dropped from planes from a safe distance, to attack Ukraine's military, which is suffering from major attacks. shortage of troops And ammunition.
The intermediate-range missiles delivered last year and some of the long-range missiles sent in recent days are equipped with cluster munitions, which open up in the air upon launch and release hundreds of submunitions rather than a single warhead. The other ones sent recently have only one warhead.
One of the key factors in the March weapons delivery decision was whether the U.S. military could begin replacing aging ATACMS. Because the Army is now purchasing precision attack missiles, it is now comfortable taking ATACMS off the shelf to provide to Ukraine, officials said.
