Joe Biden, the President of the United States, has informed his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, that the US will supply Ukraine with Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) long-range missiles, US broadcaster NBC News has reported.
Kyiv has frequently asked the Biden administration for the long-range ATACMS to support hit supply lines, airbases, and rail networks deep behind Russia’s front lines in occupied regions of Ukraine.
But the White House has not public a decision to supply Ukraine with the ATACMS system and the missiles were not publicly concerned when Zelenskyy visited Washington, DC on Thursday for discussions with Biden, even as the US announced a new $325m military assistance package for Ukraine.
The Pentagon and the White House denied to comment on the NBC report on Friday.
The Pentagon also refused to tell whether any assurance of ATACMS was provided to Zelenskyy during his meetings on Thursday at the Department of Defense, saying: “In regards to ATACMS, we have nothing to announce.”
According to NBC, a date for delivery of the ATACMS was not disclosed.
Earlier this month, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs cautioned that the supply of longer-range missiles to Ukraine would cross a “red line” and that Washington would be considered “a party to the conflict” in Kyiv if it did deliver such weapons.
Zelenskyy did not respond directly when questioned about the NBC reports on ATACMS, but he stated that the US was the biggest sole supplier of weaponry to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said, “We are concerned with all the various types of weapons – long-range weapons and artillery, artillery shells with the caliber of 155mm, then air defense systems.”
ATACMS is created for “deep attack of opponent second-echelon forces”, a US Army website states, and could be operated to strike command and control centers, air defenses, and logistics sites well behind the front line.
