NOS News•today, 10:42 PM•Amended today, 10:45 PM
Ukraine has used long-range missiles secretly supplied by the US on the battlefield. These missiles have a range of approximately 300 kilometers. Until now, Washington had maintained that it had only given Ukraine projectiles with a range of about 150 kilometers.
The so-called Atacms missiles were delivered to Ukraine at the beginning of this month, a Pentagon spokesperson told CNN. President Biden had given the green light for this behind the scenes. At the request of Ukraine, this information has only been made public now that the missiles have been deployed.
A Russian air base in occupied Crimea, among others, was hit with the new missiles, the AP news agency has learned from an American official. The Russian Defense Ministry said last week that three Atacms missiles had been downed over the Black Sea.
More to come
It is unclear how many units Washington delivered. The recently approved support package of tens of billions of dollars for Ukraine is expected to include more of these missiles. President Zelensky thanked the US on Monday on X for the long-range missiles that Kyiv will receive.
Ukraine has been lobbying its most important ally for months for Atacms missiles with their long range. Until now, the US has held back for fear of escalation if Ukraine were to hit targets deep in Russia. In October, Zelensky was therefore told that he was receiving Atacms missiles with half the maximum range.
But the fear of escalation appears not to have been the only consideration for the US. Washington also wanted to avoid having too few of the long-range missiles in stock. That’s why the armed forces have ordered more Atacms missiles from Lockheed Martin, which produces 500 a year.
According to Washington, these missiles have a range of more than 880 kilometers. At least 24 civilians have been killed in Russian attacks with North Korean missiles, the Ukrainian secret service SBU said in February. Debris from these ballistic missiles has been found in Kharkiv, for example.
Multiple benefits
With the arrival of the new Atacms missiles, Ukraine also has more advanced missile installations. The systems are mounted on trucks. The rockets can reach a speed of Mach 3, three times the speed of sound. This makes them much faster than the British and French cruise missiles that Ukraine has.
Another difference is that these projectiles, called Storm Shadow by the British and Scalp by the French, must be launched by plane. Because Ukraine has to be economical with fighter jets, the Atacms missiles are very welcome at the front.
No Taurus rockets yet
A Storm Shadow has a range of approximately 250 kilometers. The arrival of the new long-range missiles is also a small advantage in that area. But the Atacms missiles actually travel much less far than the German Taurus missiles, which have a range of about 500 kilometers.
Ukraine really wants these missiles, but Berlin has not yet given the green light for them. However, Foreign Minister Baerbock has openly called on her government to “intensively consider” this option. Ukraine has been losing ground in the war against Russia for months.
