US secretly sends long-range missiles to Ukraine?

The US-made Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS)

CNN on October 17 quoted two US officials as saying that Washington had quietly sent Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine, after images of parts of this long-range missile in Ukraine appeared on social media.

It is unclear when the US missiles were delivered, but the US decided to send them quietly in recent weeks because it wanted to surprise Russia, especially after months of debate over whether President Joe Biden would agree to send the weapons, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Debris believed to be from ACTAMS used by Ukrainian forces

Account X Oleksiy Goncharenko

According to the official, Russia knows about the missile's range, so the US is concerned that they will move equipment and weapons out of range before the missile can be used.

US officials have indicated that Ukraine used ATACMS, a missile with some versions having a range of up to 300 km, to attack the Russian-controlled Berdyansk and Luhansk airports in eastern Ukraine this week.

What power does the ATACMS missile bring to Ukraine?

The Ukrainian military said the attack destroyed several Russian helicopters, an ammunition depot and an anti-aircraft launcher, but did not specify whether they used ATACMS.

The US has secretly sent some weapons to Ukraine. In August 2022, the Pentagon admitted that it had sent HARM anti-radiation missiles to Ukraine without first disclosing them.

However, the US has often announced significant arms packages for Ukraine, including sending Patriot air defense systems last year and cluster munitions this year.

Over the past several weeks, when asked about the status of ATACMS aid to Ukraine, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said only that the US has “nothing to announce.” This was a deliberate choice of words, according to US officials.

The Pentagon said any questions about ATACMS should be answered by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

According to The New York Times , Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko confirmed on October 17 that "ATCMS is with us". Writing on social network X, he said that an airport in the Russian-controlled city of Berdyansk (Zaporizhzhia province) was attacked with this missile.

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The ATACMS version sent to Ukraine was small in number and was equipped with cluster munitions.

US officials had previously been reluctant to send long-range, surface-to-surface guided missiles out of concern that the conflict would escalate because they could be fired into Russia. But those concerns have largely subsided in recent months as Ukraine has demonstrated that it will not use other US-supplied weapons to attack inside Russian territory, US officials said.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/my-am-tham-gui-ten-lua-tam-xa-cho-ukraine-18523101721501493.htm