(Dan Tri) – The US has quietly transferred long-range missiles of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to Ukraine.
A US ATACMS missile system (Photo: AFP).
US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson confirmed on October 17: `Recently, the US transferred to Ukraine a number of ATACMS missiles with a range of 165km. This is part of our support package for
`We believe this support will significantly enhance Ukraine’s military capabilities without affecting the US military’s readiness level,` the official emphasized.
A US official also said that the version of the missile that the US provided to Ukraine is not in the reserve that the Pentagon will use in an emergency, so aid to Kiev will not hinder readiness.
According to this official, the handover was carried out in recent days according to the decision signed by US President Joe Biden in mid-September. During a meeting with Mr. Zelensky on September 21, the White House owner announced
The US decided to quietly supply these missiles to Ukraine because they wanted Russia to be surprised after months of Washington rejecting Ukraine’s request for ATACMS aid.
In the past, the US secretly provided some weapons to Ukraine.
On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on October 17 that Kiev had used ATACMS provided by the US for the first time.
`Today, I want to send special thanks to the United States. Our agreement with President Joe Biden has been implemented. ATACMS has shown its effectiveness on the battlefield,` Mr. Zelensky said.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the US has transferred a small number of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine.
In this raid, Ukraine announced that it caused `significant damage` to the Russian side, in which 9 helicopters, a rocket launcher, an ammunition depot and many other Moscow military equipment were destroyed.
ATACMS is a US-made missile system with different versions, with a range of up to 300km.
It can be launched from the HIMARS high-mobility rocket artillery system that Washington gave to Ukraine, as well as the M270 multiple launch rocket systems donated by Britain and Germany.
The US has long hesitated to grant ATACMS due to concerns that Ukraine could use this long-range missile to attack targets deep within Russian territory.
