The administration of United States President Joe Biden is getting closer to providing Ukraine with ATACMS missiles, which Kyiv has long requested. The decision to transfer the missiles could be made as early as this fall.
Biden has not yet approved the missile transfer. However, administration officials said they are again considering delivery of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) this fall to bolster Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
The Pentagon has long been reluctant to provide the system, which can be launched from a HIMARS launcher provided by the US last year, arguing that the US military has a limited supply of the weapon.
However, several factors prompted the Biden administration to reconsider providing the missile, according to US officials.
Plans being considered by the administration call for a limited number of missiles, which could ease Pentagon concerns that the U.S. stockpile could be severely depleted, officials said.
The US has previously secured assurances that Ukraine will not use US-provided weapons to attack Russian territory, and the provision of ATACMS is expected to be conditional on a similar promise.
ATACMS for Ukraine
Washington has so far refrained from sending its long-range ATACMS to Ukraine. At the same time, several Western publications reported the other day that the United States would most likely transfer these missiles.
At the same time, Reuters wrote, citing several American officials, that the Joe Biden administration is close to making a decision on approving the transfer of long-range missiles filled with cluster munitions to Ukraine .
As the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Ermak recently stated, discussions on ATACMS are moving forward, but did not provide details.
Source : РБК-Украина
