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FT: US to supply Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles

23.09.2023 20:00
US President Joe Biden has decided to provide Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles, the Financial Times reported citing sources.
US President Joe Biden (R) shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 21 September 2023.
US President Joe Biden (R) shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 21 September 2023.Photo: EPA/JULIA NIKHINSON / POOL

The decision was made before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the US this week, but the Biden administration opted not to make a public announcement, according to the British newspaper. 

This, as one of the sources described it, was "to avoid tipping off the Russians, prompting them to move their supply lines further back from the frontline."

ATACMS missiles have a range of up to 300 km, which will allow Kyiv to strike Russian targets from a greater distance than before.

According to sources connected to the Financial Times report, the United States will send the missiles "in the near future, in small numbers at first."

Ukraine has long been seeking the transfer of hundreds of ATACMS, including those equipped with a single warhead.

Up until now, the US has refrained, partly due to concerns that supplying this weaponry to Kyiv could heighten the conflict, and partly because the Pentagon was worried about potential shortages for its own future requirements, according to the report. 

(ał)

Source: FT.com