The US Secretly Sent ATACMS Long-Range Missiles to Kiev on Biden’s Orders. Ukraine

The missiles were included in a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine approved by US President Joe Biden on March 12, the US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official declined to say how many missiles were sent.

The missiles were first used in the early hours of April 17, being fired at a Russian airfield in the annexed Crimean peninsula, which is about 165 kilometers (103 miles) from Ukrainian front lines, the official said.

Whether or not to deliver the US Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which have a range of up to 300 kilometers, has been a topic of debate within the Biden administration for months. The medium-range ATACMS systems were already delivered last September.

The Pentagon initially opposed the deployment of the long-range missiles, fearing that the loss of the missiles in the US stockpile would affect the US military’s ability to be ready for any scenario. There were also fears that Ukraine could use them to attack targets deep inside Russia.

Russia’s use of North Korean-supplied long-range ballistic missiles against Ukraine in December and January, despite Washington’s public and private warnings not to do so, led to a change of heart, said the US official.

Also, a factor that influenced the US decision was the fact that Russia targeted Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, the official said.

“We have warned Russia about these things,” the official said. Instead, the Russians “resumed their targeting” of these critical infrastructure targets, he added.

In late January, the US military found a way to overcome concerns about the military’s ability to respond promptly in any scenario, allowing the administration to move forward. So the representatives of the Biden administration began to purchase new missiles from the production line of the giant Lockheed-Martin.

Biden met with his national security team in mid-February and agreed to accept his advisers’ unanimous recommendation to send the missiles to Ukraine. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Army Joint Chiefs of Staff CQ Brown participated in the discussion.

The challenge at that time was to identify a way to pay for the rockets. The United States had exhausted all funding options, and congressional gridlock prevented further aid.

An opportunity arose in March when several Pentagon contracts went up for auction. Biden was able to use the difference in money to send $300 million worth of military aid to Ukraine.

Biden has directed his team to include the long-range ATACMS systems in this funding package, but to do so in secret to maintain operational security and the element of surprise for Ukraine, the official said.

Photo: Profimedia Images

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