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The US secretly sent a long-range missile system to Ukraine in February, reversing a decision to withhold the weapons that some in the White House feared could dangerously escalate the war with Russia.
President Joe Biden’s decision to reverse course was influenced in part by Russia’s increased attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure in recent months, as well as the Kremlin’s use of North Korean ballistic missiles, according to two US officials.
The officials said the Army Tactical Missile System, or Atacms, arrived in Ukraine earlier this month. The Ukrainian military immediately used the system to attack an airfield in Crimea and a Russian troop position.
The US did not announce the decision at the time to maintain Ukraine’s operational security at Kyiv’s request, the officials said. The shipment was first reported by Politico.
Although the US has sent shorter-range Atacms systems to Ukraine in the past, the most recent shipment is the first time it has agreed to transfer artillery that can travel 190 miles — a distance that would allow the Ukrainian military to strike deep into Russian territory.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Ukraine’s use of the new Atacms showed the US wanted to “ramp up Zelenskyy’s terrorist potential”.
In addition to US fears that the system could escalate the war, the Pentagon also raised objections because it feared deployment to Ukraine would deplete its own Atacms stocks, which it needs for its own readiness in critical theatres.
The Pentagon remedied this issue in January, a US official said, saying the US military was able “to find a solution to mitigate readiness concerns by acquiring new Atacms coming off the production line”.
Additional reporting by Max Seddon in Riga
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