The United States reportedly sent long-range ballistic missiles to Ukraine in March.
A report from Politico said the Biden administration “quietly approved the transfer of a number of Army Tactical Missile Systems with a range of nearly 200 miles.”
More long-range missiles will be sent to Ukraine in a new $1 billion package.
“We are also providing Ukraine with new capabilities. I’m able to confirm, as you’ve heard from others, that in February the President directed his team to provide Ukraine with a significant number of ATACMS missiles for use inside Ukraine’s sovereign territory,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters. “That shipment started moving in March as part of the PDA that the President authorized on March 12th, and those missiles have arrived in Ukraine.”
“Until recently, as we’ve said on many occasions, we were unable to provide these ATACMS because of readiness concerns. But behind the scenes, the administration across the board has worked relentlessly to address those concerns,” Sullivan added.
“We now have a significant number of ATACMS coming off the production line and entering U.S. stocks. And as a result, we can move forward with providing ATACMS while also sustaining the readiness of the U.S. armed forces.”
Biden recently signed a bill that provides $95 billion for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific, and a measure that bans TikTok unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells the social media platform to an American company.
As the bill passed the House of Representatives, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “This aid will strengthen Ukraine, and send the Kremlin a powerful signal that it will not be the second Afghanistan.”
“The United States will stay with Ukraine, will protect the Ukrainians, and they will protect – they will protect democracy in the world. This is the show of leadership and strength of the United States,” he continued, adding “And it’s important because we need long-range weapons to not lose people on the front line. Because we have – we have casualties because we cannot reach that far. Our weapons are not that long-range. So we need it, and air defense. This is crucial. These are the priorities now.”
