Washington [US], April 25: Reuters on April 25 quoted US officials as saying that the country sent ATACMS long-range missiles , full name Army Tactical Missile System, to Ukraine as part of a $300 million military aid package approved by the President. Joe Biden signed on March 12.
"I can confirm that the United States has provided long-range ATACMS to Ukraine under the direct direction of the president," US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said on April 24, noting that Washington did not immediately announce it at that time. to maintain operational security at the request of Kyiv. He added that the missiles were brought to Ukraine in April.
Last year, the US provided the ATACMS version with a range of 165 km to Ukraine , but providing the 300 km version has been an issue discussed by the White House for many months. A US Department of Defense spokesman confirmed the long-range version was now available. White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed that he had sent a large number of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine and said he would send more.
He emphasized that Ukraine has committed to only using this missile within its territory, not to attack Russian territory. The official revealed that this weapon is also included in the $1 billion aid package that President Biden approved on April 24, after Congress passed a $61 billion budget to support Ukraine.
An anonymous US official said that the long-range ATACMS missile was used for the first time at dawn on April 17, targeting a Russian airport in Crimea, 165 km from the front line. The second use targeted Russian forces in southeastern Ukraine.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper