Marta Gichko20:48, 12.09.23

3 min.353

The State Department and the Pentagon recommended that Biden support this decision.

Biden will soon make a final decision on sending long-range  ATACMS missiles to Ukraine .

CNN reports, citing sources, that this is an important step recommended by the State and Defense Departments after months of requests from Ukraine.

Discussions about sending the Army’s ATACMS long-range tactical missile systems have intensified significantly in recent weeks, sources said. No final decision has been made on whether to send the missiles, but “the likelihood of that happening is much greater now than before,” said one official familiar with the discussions.

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“This is much more likely. I just don’t know when (delivery will begin – UNIAN),” the source said.

U.S. officials have been reticent to send long-range surface-to-surface guided missiles due to concerns about escalating the conflict as they could potentially be fired into Russia. However, this concern has largely eased as Ukraine has shown that it is not using other US-provided weapons to attack territory inside Russia.

Ukraine carried out strikes on Russian territory using its own drones and weapons, allowing Kyiv to adhere to its commitment not to use American weapons to strike targets in the Russian Federation.

Currently, the maximum range of US weapons provided to Ukraine is approximately 150 km with a ground-based small diameter bomb. ATACMS, which have a range of about 300 km, will allow the Ukrainian military to hit targets at twice that distance.

The publication notes that the United States is close to supplying ATACMS to Ukraine amid months of requests from Ukraine. Previously, the US had resisted supplies of Patriot air defense systems, Abrams tanks and cluster munitions – all of which were eventually awarded to Kyiv.

(C)UNIAN 2023