US has provided Ukraine long-range ATACMS missiles, sources say
The US secretly provided Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles, according to two US officials, News.az reports citing CNN.
The confirmation came on Tuesday after images of the missiles’ submunitions inside Ukraine began circulating on social media.
It is not clear when the US missiles were provided. But the US decided in recent weeks to send them quietly because they wanted to take the Russians by surprise, especially after months of public back-and-forth over whether President Joe Biden would agree to send the weapons, an official said. The Russians are aware of the range of the missiles and the US was concerned they would move equipment and weapons out of reach before the missiles could be used, the official said.
US officials indicated to CNN on Tuesday that Ukraine used the ATACMS, some variants of which have a maximum range of approximately 186 miles, to attack Russia’s Berdyansk and Luhansk airfields in eastern Ukraine this week. The Ukrainian military tweeted that the attack destroyed several Russian helicopters, an ammunition depot, and an air defense launcher, but did not specify whether they used ATACMS to do it.
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