Ukraine has twice in recent weeks used a type of long-range missile that the United States recently secretly exported to Ukraine. The Atacms missiles were part of a $300 million military aid package that US President Joe Biden approved on March 12. International news agencies write this based on American officials.
The missiles were used in an April 17 attack on an airfield in Russian-occupied Crimea, officials said. They have also been used against Russian forces in southeastern Ukraine. For months, the US has resisted sending long-range missiles to Ukraine, fearing Kyiv would use them to penetrate deep into Russian territory, further escalating the war.
Ukraine had had a number of American Atacms missiles since October, but they had a range of ‘only’ 160 kilometers. The two rockets used last week can travel a distance of about 300 kilometers. In total, Ukraine is now said to have a “significant” number of the new variants.
The officials told the AP news agency that the new aid package also includes Atacms missiles with a range of 300 kilometers. They did not say how many missiles were involved, both those already present in Ukraine and those that may yet be sent.
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