Politico reported Wednesday that the Biden administration secretly shipped long-range missiles to Ukraine and Kiev used them in its ongoing war with Russia.
Ukraine has long sought weapons capable of striking deep into Russia, which critics say could seriously escalate the conflict.
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Ukraine had requested such weapons from the beginning of the conflict with Russia, and the issue had been presented to the American public as a point of contention between the United States and Kiev. Apparently, that's not the case anymore.
politiko report„The delivery of the long-range version of the ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) brings an end to a long drama in which Ukraine has been clamoring for years to receive the weapons and has driven a wedge between Washington and Kiev. Although it secretly sent an intermediate-range version of the missile to the moon, Ukraine continued to demand the development of a weapon capable of hitting Russia further behind its lines.
These are not just show weapons either. They are already being used against Russia.
“Ukrainian forces have used long-range missiles twice, first against Russian military bases in Crimea and more recently against Russian forces east of Berdyansk near the Sea of Azov,” a senior government official said in the report. Ta.
The news came as the United States announced on Wednesday that it would send a new $1 billion arms package to Ukraine as soon as possible.
Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package on Wednesday, with Ukraine being a key beneficiary. The total amount exceeds $60 billion.
In March, Politico reported that the United States was sending a second batch of ATACMS, a different version, to Ukraine.
White House officials said each of the missiles had a flight range of 100 miles. Controversially, this missile carries a warhead containing hundreds of cluster bombs. More than 100 countries are signatories to the treaty banning cluster munitions. The United States has not signed.
The official chose to remain anonymous.
Biden administration believes ATACMS will help Ukraine move forward
So what caused the Biden administration to reverse its long-range missile launch into Ukraine?
Politico said, „The United States was initially reluctant to deploy ATACMS, despite continued internal and external pressure, due to stockpile concerns and fears of escalating the war.“ „But Russia's increasingly brutal tactics and the United States' increased production of long-range versions convinced Biden to approve the transfer.“
„The Biden administration believes the provision of ATACMS could give Ukraine new momentum in its two-year war and force Russia to retreat from other high-value targets such as critical command and control nodes and air assets.“ a second U.S. official said in the report. I got it.
It remains to be seen how much further the US will become involved.
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