Biden secretly sent long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine to allow attacks deeper into Russian territory: report

The Biden administration has provided US-developed Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to the war-torn nation before, though only older medium-range models. This marks the first shipment of those capable of striking targets deeper into Putin's territory, including Crimea.

According to Politico, a senior member of the Biden administration and two other US officials confirmed that ATACMS with a range of over 300km had, in fact, been sent, and that two of them were subsequently used to hit forces east of Berdyansk and a Russian military base in Crimea.

Just how many long-range missiles were provided was not divulged, though the senior official did note that more were being sent as part of the $1 billion military aid package approved by the president on Wednesday.

In 2022, Biden made it very clear that the US would not send "rocket systems that can strike Russia" out of fear it could escalate the conflict. Since then, however, Ukrainian officials have pushed for the weapons, with President Zelensky warning that the war will not be over until Crimea is once again part of Ukraine.

Just one month before the long-range missiles were sent, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba sat down with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Munich. During the meeting, Kuleba admitted he "spent a very good part of the time arguing in favor of ATACMS."

"There is only one way to destroy Russian capabilities in Ukraine," he explained. "It's to hit deep into the occupied territories, bypassing Russian radio electronic warfare and interceptors."

Kuleba said ATACMS were "an important symbol" in Ukraine, and that, "If you want to hit behind the lines, disrupt their logistics and supplies, destroy their depots of ammunition, you can only do it with long-range missiles."