The United States secretly shipped new long-range missiles to Ukraine

Last week, the United States secretly shipped a new long-range missile system to Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces immediately used those weapons to attack a Russian military airfield in Crimea last Wednesday and Russian troops in the southeast of the country on Tuesday night, according to a senior American official. official.

The United States previously supplied Ukraine with a version of the Army's tactical missile system known as ATACMS, armed with widely used cluster munitions that can travel 100 miles.

But Ukraine has long coveted the longer-range version of the system, with a range of about 190 miles. This can reach deeper into occupied Ukraine, including Crimea, a hub of Russian air and ground forces and supply nodes for Moscow's forces in the country's southeast.

On Tuesday night, Ukraine used longer-range missiles to strike Russian troops in the Sea of ​​Azov port city of Berdyansk, the senior U.S. official said, speaking under cover of anonymity to discuss operational matters.

Last Wednesday, social media accounts in Ukraine reported large fires and explosions at a military airfield in Djankoi, Crimea, which the senior administration official said was also a long-range target of ATACMS. In a speech that evening, President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine's top commander, but did not provide details of the attack.

In a major policy shift, President Biden secretly approved the decision to send more than 100 long-range missiles in mid-February, the top U.S. official said, along with more cluster munitions. They were part of a $300 million arms delivery to Ukraine in March, the first new aid package for the country since funds ran out in late December.

Administration officials kept the shipment secret to avoid tipping off the Russians. When the United States supplied long-range weapons to Ukraine in the past, the Ukrainians initially inflicted serious damage on Russian forces. But the Russians then withdraw their forces and weapons depots out of weapons range until Ukraine can use a given new system with a longer range. Longer-range ATACMS were among the last major weapons systems desired by kyiv and which the United States was reluctant to give.

Mr. Biden and his top aides abandoned their reluctance to donate longer-range missiles for several reasons, the official said. The military decided to keep more of the missiles rather than sell them to other countries, easing the Pentagon's concerns about shortages. Russia's growing use of ballistic missiles and increased attacks on critical infrastructure have also strengthened Ukraine's case for weapons that could help counter these threats.

Additional longer-range missiles were also included in the $60.8 billion in aid to Ukraine that was part of legislation signed by President Biden on Wednesday. In welcoming the provision of military assistance, including the new missiles, lawmakers and Mr. Zelensky made no mention of the fact that Ukraine has already received and used a small number of weapons, probably to keep their secret use with Russia.

The initial strike using the new missiles had a fiery impact. Videos posted online by residents last Wednesday showed fires breaking out after the attack. The videos have not been independently verified. Four hours after the attack, Crimean Wind, a group that monitors local social media posts and also quotes residents, wrote that munitions were still exploding. They said windows were blown out in homes near the airfield. His account also could not be independently verified.

The Ukrainian General Staff later released a video of the missile strike detailing what Ukrainian security officials said hit four S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, three radar stations, a post air defense command center and a Fundament-M air defense system. command and control system.

The $300 million weapons program announced last month was cobbled together from savings on competitively tendered contracts and included air defense interceptors, artillery shells and armor systems, senior defense officials said.

Biden administration officials acknowledged that the March arms package was at best a stopgap measure, providing Ukraine with only a few weeks' worth of weapons and ammunition. Ukraine needs air defense systems as Russia continues to bomb cities, especially in the east.

Key members of Congress were informed at the time that the secret ATACMS shipment was included in this package, but Biden administration officials made no public mention that either type of ATACMS was bound for Ukraine.

But as the strikes with long-range weapons became public on Wednesday, supporters of sending advanced weapons to Ukraine praised their performance.

The strikes proved once again that Ukraine can achieve victories on the battlefield when it has the right tools, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. . Ukraine can target all Russian assets in Crimea, including critical munitions and fuel depots. Imagine if they had these missiles two years ago.

Last week's strike followed a number of successful Ukrainian attacks on military targets in Russia. The day before the attack, for example, Ukrainian security services claimed to have destroyed a long-range radar located 434 miles beyond the Ukrainian border. But these used kamikaze-type drones produced in Ukraine.

U.S. military officials have warned that their ATACMS arsenal is relatively small and that the missiles have been allocated to other Pentagon war plans, including on the Korean Peninsula. Only about 4,000 ATACMS have been manufactured since the missile's development in the 1980s, according to Lockheed Martin, the system's manufacturer.

Yet many supporters of arming Ukraine have dismissed the Biden administration's fear of an escalation in the conflict with Russia and urged the White House to give Kiev the weapons Ukrainian officials say they need to win.

Shortly after Ukraine launched its counteroffensive last summer, House Republicans called on the Biden administration to immediately send ATACMS to Ukraine, noting that other allies like Britain Brittany and France had already donated long-range missiles.

In recent days, Russian troops have entered several villages in eastern Ukraine, as Ukrainian troops continue to struggle to maintain their lines.

Russia has advanced rapidly on the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, a town crucial to Ukraine's defense of the Donbas region. Russian forces also continued to capture villages northwest of Avdiivka, which fell to Russia in February.

Helene Cooper contributed reporting from Washington, and Marc Santora and Maria Varenikova from kyiv, Ukraine.

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