kyiv uses longer-range US missiles against Russia for the first time

Ukraine began to use longer range ballistic missiles against Russia that were secretly provided by the United States, US officials confirmed.

Weapons were sent as part of a previous support package from the United States and They arrived this month. Officials said that were not publicly announced to maintain “operational security” from Ukraine.

Have already been used at least once to attack Russian targets in occupied Crimea.

More American aid is now headed to kyiv.

More US weapons are expected to be delivered imminently after President Joe Biden approved a new $61 billion economic and military support package for Ukraine on Wednesday. The package also includes funds for Taiwan and Israel.

The missiles that have already been quietly provided They are the longest-range version of the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS)a State Department spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday.

Previously, the United States had supplied Ukraine a medium range version of ATACMSbut had resisted sending anything more powerful, partly for fear of compromising American military readiness.

Officials were also concerned that the Ukrainians could use the weaponry to attack within Russian territorywhich would cause an escalation of the conflict, according to NBC, which was the first to report the news.

The Ukrainians They have been asking for these systems for a long time, which can fire missiles at a distance of up to 300 kilometers. Biden is said to secretly gave the green light in February.

The Kremlin affirmed this Thursday that the delivery of ATACMS long-range missiles to kyiv will not change the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, where Russia will achieve its objectives.

“We will achieve what we want. That (deliveries) will create more problems for Ukraine itself“said the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov, in his daily press conference.

He added that The US is “directly involved in the conflict” Ukrainian with the supply to kyiv of weapons of “ever greater range”.

Biden decided to approve that shipment after US intelligence concluded that Russia has used long-range missiles from other countriesparticularly North Korea, on the battlefield and in the face of increasing Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.

The Pentagon avoided specifying the exact number of missiles sent to Ukrainian forces, although he assured that more will be sent, especially now that Congress has approved the aid.

The first time Biden mentioned that he was considering sending ATACMS missiles to Ukraine was in July last year during the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, but at that time the United States decided to prioritize the shipment of artillery to Ukraine, since it was what was being used the most on the battlefield.

With information from EFE and BBC news