The United States secretly transferred ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers to Ukraine. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have already used them to attack an airfield in Crimea – Meduza

The United States secretly sent long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, including them in a $300 million military aid package that Joe Biden approved on March 12, Reuters writes, citing an American official.

According to him, Ukraine first used missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers on April 17, striking a military airfield in Crimea. The consequences of the strike are not reported. Politico writes that long-range missiles have already been used twice. According to the official cited by Politico, another strike was carried out “very recently” against Russian troops east of Berdyansk.

A Reuters source claims that the Biden administration has long doubted whether to send Ukraine missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers. The Pentagon feared a weakening of the US military arsenal and that Ukraine would use these missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia.

The change in Washington’s position was led by the Russian army’s use of North Korean missiles, despite US warnings, and Russian strikes on critical Ukrainian infrastructure. “We warned Russia about these things. They have resumed their attacks,” a source told Reuters.

According to Reuters, Biden made the decision to send ATACMS in mid-February. The White House believes that providing ATACMS could give Ukraine a new impetus in the war, forcing Russia to push back critical command posts and other valuable assets, such as aviation, Politico writes.

The Russian news agency RIA Novosti claims that the Pentagon has confirmed the transfer of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine for use “within sovereign Ukrainian territory.”

In September 2023, the United States supplied Ukraine with ATACMS missiles, but with a shorter range, with a radius of about 160 kilometers. In October, Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine had used them for the first time, but did not specify which targets were hit. This batch of missiles, according to The Wall Street Journal, was also sent secretly. The publication noted that these days the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced attacks on airfields in Lugansk and Berdyansk.