Alexey Goncharenko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada, reports that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already received American long-range missiles known as ATACMS and have fired them during the shelling of Berdiansk in the Zaporizhzhya region. He posted the following on social media: “Well, ATACMS is already with us.”
In addition to this, the Deputy mentioned that these projectiles were used in an attempt to attack Berdiansk specifically.
The city’s various air defence systems were put into operation late last night. There were reports of explosions, but no information about injuries or property damage was recorded.
The United States government has not officially announced the transfer of ATACMS complexes to Kyiv, with a range of around 300 kilometres. However, in response to a pertinent question, President Biden claimed that President Zelensky’s demands have been “worked on ” in the White House.
According to an article published in the New Yorker magazine, President Joe Biden approved one month (September) for Ukraine to receive ATACMS operational-tactical missiles.
According to the media reports, the key concern regarding the possibility of an escalation of the war served as the primary rationale against the transfer of ATACMS for a considerable amount of time. On the other hand, the article asserts that the White House considered exploiting the threat of their deployment to exert pressure on Russia. Concerns over the United States’ comparatively small inventory of anti-tank guided missiles (ATACMS) changed as it became clear that France and the United Kingdom were sending long-range missiles to Kyiv.
Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, is a ballistic missile designed by Lockheed Martin for use in operational and tactical settings. The M142 HIMARS rocket artillery system is among several that can fire it.
Since the beginning of last year, Kyiv has been pressing Washington to deliver these missiles. According to the remarks made by Russia’s Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, such weapons may, in principle, enable the Ukrainian Armed Forces to launch strikes deep within Russian territory. This would mean Washington would be directly involved in a military conflict with Moscow.
