President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had used US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles for the first time. Meanwhile, the European Parliament approved a major four-year aid package for Kyiv.
Ukraine launched US-provided long-range ATACMS missiles against Russian forces on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, confirming prior US media reports.
"Today, special thanks to the United States. Our agreements with President Biden are being implemented. Very accurately — ATACMS proved themselves," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.
The United States secretly provided Ukraine with the missiles, although it was not immediately clear when Washington sent them, outlets including CNN and the Associated Press reported earlier, citing unnamed US officials.
Kyiv has repeatedly asked the US for ATACMS to help attack and disrupt supply lines, air bases and rail networks in Russian-occupied territory.
President Joe Biden approved a future delivery last month and told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting at the White House that the US would give Ukraine the ATACMs, without specifying when or how many would be delivered.
Because of lingering US concerns about escalating tensions with Russia, for instance by striking targets on Russian soil with NATO weaponry, the ATACMS version that went to Ukraine will have a shorter range than the maximum distance the missiles can have.
While some versions of the missiles can go as far as about 180 miles (300 kilometers), the ones sent to Ukraine have a shorter range of and carry cluster munitions, which when fired, open in the air, releasing hundreds of bomblets, rather than a single warhead.
Kyiv has also put pressure on Germany to supply it with Taurus cruise missiles, similar to ATACMS, causing debate amongst German politicians.
However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had used the risk of escalation to justify his decision not to deliver Taurus cruise missiles with a range of 500 kilometres to the war zone for the time being, despite urgent pleas from Ukraine.
Source: DW
Comments