US secretly sent long-range ATACMS weapons to Ukraine

WASHINGTON: The United States quietly sent long-range ballistic missiles to Ukraine as part of a package of military support in March, and Ukraine has used the weapons twice, according to US officials.

The longer-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) can hit targets as far as 300km (186 miles) away, nearly double the range of the mid-range ATACMS that the US began sending towards the end of last year.

Washington had long been reluctant to provide Ukraine with the longer-range weapon amid concerns they could be used on targets deep inside Russian territory and escalate the conflict.

But in February, Biden approved the delivery of the missiles and a “significant” number was included in a $300m aid package announced the following month, officials said.

“We’ve already sent some, we will send more,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.

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State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said the delivery had not been announced “in order to maintain operational security for Ukraine at their request”. Neither official confirmed the number of ATACMS sent.

Ukraine has been forced to ration its weapons amid a protracted delay to a $61bn military assistance package that was finally passed in the US this week. ATACMS are expected to be included in the first $1bn tranche of that aid package.

The weapons sent this month were used on April 17 to strike an airfield in Dzhankoi in Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014. They were also used this week against Russian forces in southeastern Ukraine, near the occupied city of Berdyansk.