The United States is moving closer to providing Ukraine with ATACMS ground-launched missiles, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces have long wanted to receive to launch longer-range strikes against Russian troops.
According to the WSJ, US President Joe Biden has not yet approved the missile transfer. However, White House officials have said that they are again considering the possibility of delivering an Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) this autumn to bolster Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
Ukraine has long requested the ATACMS, a surface-to-surface missile system capable of striking far beyond Russian territory. The United States has produced several versions of ATACMS, which are launched from a mobile launcher and can strike at a distance of 160 to 300 km, depending on the model.
– Our position has always been that we will provide Ukraine with the capabilities that will allow it to succeed on the battlefield. We will continue to assess the situation on the ground and make decisions based on that,” Deputy National Security Adviser John Feiner told reporters on Sunday, declining to say whether the system would be provided.
According to the WSJ, citing people familiar with President Zelenskyy’s plans, the Ukrainian leader will visit Washington next week to address the US Congress and meet with Biden after attending the UN General Assembly.
The White House declined to comment on the information about the possible visit.
Zelenskiy said in an interview with CNN aired on Sunday that he plans to push Biden to make the decision to provide the missiles, and hopes Ukraine can receive the weapons this autumn.
The Pentagon has long been reluctant to provide the system, which can be launched using the HIMARS launcher the US provided last year, arguing that the US military has a limited supply of the weapon.
– From a military point of view, we have relatively few ATACMS, and we have to make sure that we maintain our own ammunition stocks. And the range of the weapon – I think there is a bit of an exaggeration of what ATACMS can and cannot do. We’re talking about a single shot, so think musket and revolver rifle,” Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Defence One in March.
Russia has also warned Washington that providing longer-range missiles could cross a “red line,” fuelling fears in some quarters that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a clash between Moscow and Washington.
However, according to U.S. officials, several factors have prompted the Biden administration to reconsider providing the missile.
According to officials, the plans under consideration by the administration call for a limited number of missiles, which could alleviate Pentagon concerns that US stockpiles could be severely depleted.
The US has previously secured assurances that Ukraine will not use US-provided weapons to strike Russian territory, and the provision of ATACMS is expected to be contingent on a similar promise.
The newspaper notes that by supplying Ukraine with Storm Shadow cruise missiles this year, Kyiv has shown that it is ready to limit the use of Western weapons to its sovereign territory, rather than use them to strike deep into Russia.
Another factor is that the stockpile of longer-range missiles that Ukraine has received from the West may be running low.
The UK has a limited supply of Storm Shadow missiles launched from aircraft. France also supplies its version of this system, known as Scalp.
According to the European manufacturer, Storm Shadow missiles can cover a distance of more than 240 km. However, Ukrainian officials say that a ground-based system such as ATACMS would give them more capability to quickly strike logistics, communications and other targets on Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory. Because the launchers are mobile, they can move quickly after firing – “shoot and go” – to avoid retaliation from Russia.
According to officials, another long-range system the US has announced it will deliver – a small-diameter ground-launched surface-to-surface bomb (GLSDB) with a range of about 144 km – will be delivered only in a few months.
Russian troops have spent months laying mines, digging trenches and preparing 600km of defensive lines in southern Ukraine. These lines continue to pose a serious obstacle to Ukrainian forces seeking to cut or at least push back the swath of Russian-controlled territory connecting southwestern Russia to Crimea.
While the ATACMS will not help Ukrainian forces directly break through these defences, officials hope they will enable Ukraine to strike at some of the logistical hubs and headquarters that Russian forces need to hold on to captured Ukrainian territory.
Earlier this week, Ukraine demonstrated its ability to strike deep into Russian territory by attacking dry docks in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, damaging a Russian submarine and a large amphibious assault ship.
Ukraine has hinted that the operation, which was one of the most impressive strikes against Russia’s naval power in the 18-month war, was carried out using Storm Shadows missiles.
And on Thursday, Kyiv said its Ukrainian-made drones and cruise missiles had destroyed one of Russia’s most advanced air defence systems in Crimea, dealing a fresh blow to the occupied peninsula, which serves as a crucial logistical base for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Some US lawmakers are pushing the White House to provide the ATACMS system. In June, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a bipartisan resolution calling on the Biden administration to immediately deliver them to Kyiv.
– “By failing to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to win this war, the administration is prolonging the conflict and taking countless Ukrainian lives,” said Congressman Michael McCaul.
In May, Biden said that sending ATACMS was “still in play”. In June, officials hinted that the US was considering providing ATACMS systems to Ukraine.