Speaking to the American newspaper, government officials said that they are reconsidering the delivery of ATACMS missiles to the army this fall in order to assist Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which is currently stalled.
Kiev has long possessed missile systems with a range of up to 300 kilometers.
Our position throughout has been to provide Ukraine with the capabilities to succeed on the battlefield. We will continue to assess the situation on the ground and make decisions based on that
Deputy National Security Advisor John Feiner told reporters on Sunday. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will visit Washington next week, he will put pressure on US President Joe Biden.
The Pentagon’s long-standing argument is that they are unwilling to provide support to Kiev because of limited US supplies.
Plans under review within the administration call for a limited supply of missiles, which could ease Pentagon concerns about the deep depletion of US stockpiles.
Officials said.
There may be other reasons behind the decision change: on the one hand Ukraine has shown that it is capable of inflicting serious damage on Russia’s armed forces with the Storm Shadow and SCALP/EG drones it received this year, even if it only deploys the weapons on a limited scale in the occupied part. However, it is also possible that Kiev was exhausted by Anglo-French arms and may soon lose its long-range offensive capabilities.
Cover image source: Portfolio
