After months of expressing concerns about the risk of escalation and about not having enough missiles, it turns out that the Biden Administration has sent ATACMS missiles to Ukraine after all—but did it in secret. They showed up yesterday, when the Kiev regime claimed attacks on two Russian airfields in the area of Berdyansk and in Lugansk. “Today, I am especially grateful to the United States. Our agreements with President Biden are being implemented. They are being implemented very accurately—the ATACMS have proven themselves,” Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said. The regime claimed that the strikes destroyed nine Russian helicopters and caused “dozens” of casualties.
“The United States recently provided Ukraine with a type of ATACMS capable of ranging out to 165 km as part of our ongoing support for the people of Ukraine as they defend their territory against Russia’s brutal invasion,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson confirmed in a statement, CNN reported. “We believe this will provide a significant boost to Ukraine’s battlefield capabilities without risking our military readiness.”
An unnamed official told CNN that the version of the ATACMS sent to Ukraine were of the type equipped with cluster warheads instead of a single high-explosive warhead and which the U.S. Army is withdrawing from use, anyway. The U.S. decided to send them quietly because they wanted to take the Russians by surprise, especially after months of public back-and-forth over whether Biden would agree to send the weapons, an official said. The number of missiles transferred has not been reported publicly, but according to The Associated Press, it is said to be “small.”
