Politico reported on Wednesday that the Biden administration had secretly shipped long-range missiles to Ukraine and that Kiev had used them in their ongoing war with Russia.
Ukraine has long sought weapons that can strike deep inside of Russia, which critics argue could severely escalate the conflict.
How much deeper can America get in this war?
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Biden Continues to Give to Ukraine
Ukraine has been demanding such weapons since early in the conflict with Russia, and the matter had been presented to the American public as a hot-button issue between the U.S. and Kiev. Apparently, not so anymore.
Politico reported, “The provision of the long-range version of the ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) ends a lengthy drama in which Ukraine clamored for years to receive the weapon, driving a wedge between Washington and Kyiv. The U.S. quietly sent the medium-range version of the missile in October, but Ukraine continued to press for a weapon that would allow it to strike farther behind Russia’s lines.”
These aren’t show weapons, either. They have already been put to use against Russia.
“Ukrainian forces have used the long-range missiles twice, first against a Russian military base in Crimea and more recently against Russian forces east of Berdyansk near the Sea of Azov, the senior administration official said,” the report noted.
This news comes as the U.S. announced Wednesday that a new $1 billion package of weapons will be sent to Ukraine ASAP.
Biden signed off on the $95 billion foreign aid package on Wednesday, of which Ukraine is a significant beneficiary. To the tune of over $60 billion.
In March, Politico reported that the U.S. was sending Ukraine a second round of a different version of ATACMS.
According to a White House official, one of the missiles travels 100 miles. Controversially, the missile carries warheads containing hundreds of cluster bombs. More than 100 nations are party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions banning the latter. The U.S. is not a signatory.
That official chose to remain anonymous.
Biden Administration Believes ATACMS Can Help Ukraine Advance
So what caused the Biden administration to flip-flop on sending long-range missiles to Ukraine?
“The U.S. was initially reluctant to send ATACMS — even under sustained domestic and international pressure — due to stockpile concerns and fear of escalating the war,” Politico observed. “But Russia’s increasingly brutal tactics and more American production of the long-range version convinced Biden to authorize the transfer.”
“The Biden administration believes providing ATACMS can give Ukraine some new momentum in the two-year war, forcing Russia to move back critical command and control nodes and other high-value targets such as aviation assets, said the second U.S. official,” the report noted.
It remains to be seen how much further embroiled the U.S. will become.
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