The US-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, will allow Ukrainian forces to target Russia’s Crimean Peninsula “more effectively,” the New York Times has reported, citing senior Pentagon officials.
Washington secretly sent Kiev an unspecified number of longer-range ATACMS missiles last month, US officials confirmed earlier this week, after several outlets claimed that Kiev has already begun using the new weapon against Russian targets far behind the frontlines.
The “goal” of supplying Ukraine with longer-range weaponry was to put more pressure on Crimea, “where, right now, Russia has had relatively safe haven,” the NYT wrote on Thursday, citing an unnamed US defense official.
The US had delivered ATACMS missiles, allegedly with a range up to 300 kilometers, to Ukraine as part of the $300-million arms package approved by President Joe Bidenin mid-March. On Wednesday, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed the delivery, but US officials refused to comment on the exact modification and range of the weapon.