The Biden administration is working towards supplying Ukraine with powerful new long-range ballistic missiles, two high-ranking US officials have said.
After months of requests from Ukrainian officials, the administration is reportedly willing to send a variant of the missiles – known as ATACMS (army tactical missile systems) – if the foreign aid package passed by the Senate last week becomes law.
The defence officials told NBC, the US has a limited supply of ATACMS and is not likely to send its own to Ukraine without money to replenish its stockpiles.
According to the officials, the US has not ruled out asking Nato allies to provide the missiles for Ukraine with the expectation that the US would refill the stockpile at a later date.
Last year, the US began to supply Ukraine with older medium-range ATACMS. The new variations of ATACMS that the White House wants to send to Ukraine will have a maximum range of nearly 300km (200 miles) and carry cluster bombs which would allow forces to strike farther inside Crimea.
The $95 billion (£75 billion) aid package, currently being delayed in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, sees $65 billion for Ukraine with the rest going to Israel and Taiwan.
Donald Trump, the former president, and other Senate Republicans attempted to kill the foreign aid measure up until the vote. In a blow to Mr Trump, 22 Republicans defied him and voted alongside the Democrats in passing the measure.
For months, Republicans have been reluctant to support the Biden administration’s Ukraine funding and have said that they’ll only agree to it if the administration agrees to a package of Republican immigration and border security measures.
While it’s not clear whether or when the house will vote on the package, Joe Biden has continued to call the package critical to Ukraine and assured Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, he was confident it would eventually be approved.
If Congress does approve the funding for Ukraine, the long-range ATACMS could be included in one of the first packages of aid paid for with that money.
Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister who met with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said in Munich on Saturday the pair discussed Ukraine’s urgent need for longer-range weapons.
“There is only one way to destroy Russian capabilities in Ukraine. It’s to hit deep into the occupied territories, bypassing Russian radio electronic warfare and interceptors.”
So why does the money to buy them have to come from US coffers? Why can’t Europe just cough up a little more cash? I’m guessing we’d gladly sell them; we’re just not giving them away.
No no, that is the wrong approach. Send them to your Nato ally Estonia to bolster them, I am sure they know what to do with them.
Stop saying do it
GOP will find way to block it
“Could send?” SHOULD SEND.
Do it.
Just do it already, you stupid fossil! People are dying and the orange cave troll is waiting in the wings to help his boyfriend Putin devour another country.
Call me when they do
Could, would, just freaking send them!
Then fucking do it. STFU with all the bullshit and send them. Tired of the trickle down military aid for Ukraine as they slowly bleed out.
The Biden administration seems to be the only one unaware at this point.
Could’ve, would’ve should’ve.
Just do it. Promises won’t kill ruzzianz and win this war for Ukraine.
These missiles are critcal. However, we really need to send ground launchers for Tomahawk missiles. Sadly there are not enough ground launchers built yet. Why we are not working on building those 24/7 is beyond me.
TL; DR The USA needs to source more ATACMS before they can send any to Ukraine. Or they can promise to backfill other nations if they will send theirs to Ukraine.
If anyone doesn’t already know about the ongoing Battle of the Red Sea, that’s one example of why the USA must take this stance.
(No, as a naval conflict, the Battle of the Red Sea does not involve surface to surface missiles like ATACMS. That is not the point. The point is that the USA is highly aware of how many other conflicts around the world Russia could start. Today it’s a naval battle in the Middle East. Tomorrow it could be East Asia. As an ally, the USA does not want to be in the position of having to make choices between Ukraine and Taiwan, for example. And neither Taiwan nor Ukraine want their allies to be in that position, either.)
16 comments
***The Telegraph reports:***
The Biden administration is working towards supplying Ukraine with powerful new long-range ballistic missiles, two high-ranking US officials have said.
After months of requests from Ukrainian officials, the administration is reportedly willing to send a variant of the missiles – known as ATACMS (army tactical missile systems) – if the foreign aid package passed by the Senate last week becomes law.
The defence officials told NBC, the US has a limited supply of ATACMS and is not likely to send its own to Ukraine without money to replenish its stockpiles.
According to the officials, the US has not ruled out asking Nato allies to provide the missiles for Ukraine with the expectation that the US would refill the stockpile at a later date.
Last year, the US began to supply Ukraine with older medium-range ATACMS. The new variations of ATACMS that the White House wants to send to Ukraine will have a maximum range of nearly 300km (200 miles) and carry cluster bombs which would allow forces to strike farther inside Crimea.
The $95 billion (£75 billion) aid package, currently being delayed in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, sees $65 billion for Ukraine with the rest going to Israel and Taiwan.
Donald Trump, the former president, and other Senate Republicans attempted to kill the foreign aid measure up until the vote. In a blow to Mr Trump, 22 Republicans defied him and voted alongside the Democrats in passing the measure.
For months, Republicans have been reluctant to support the Biden administration’s Ukraine funding and have said that they’ll only agree to it if the administration agrees to a package of Republican immigration and border security measures.
While it’s not clear whether or when the house will vote on the package, Joe Biden has continued to call the package critical to Ukraine and assured Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, he was confident it would eventually be approved.
If Congress does approve the funding for Ukraine, the long-range ATACMS could be included in one of the first packages of aid paid for with that money.
Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister who met with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said in Munich on Saturday the pair discussed Ukraine’s urgent need for longer-range weapons.
“There is only one way to destroy Russian capabilities in Ukraine. It’s to hit deep into the occupied territories, bypassing Russian radio electronic warfare and interceptors.”
**Full story here:** [**https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2024/02/20/biden-russia-ukraine-atacms-missile-us-zelensky/**](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2024/02/20/biden-russia-ukraine-atacms-missile-us-zelensky/)
So why does the money to buy them have to come from US coffers? Why can’t Europe just cough up a little more cash? I’m guessing we’d gladly sell them; we’re just not giving them away.
No no, that is the wrong approach. Send them to your Nato ally Estonia to bolster them, I am sure they know what to do with them.
Stop saying do it
GOP will find way to block it
“Could send?” SHOULD SEND.
Do it.
Just do it already, you stupid fossil! People are dying and the orange cave troll is waiting in the wings to help his boyfriend Putin devour another country.
Call me when they do
Could, would, just freaking send them!
Then fucking do it. STFU with all the bullshit and send them. Tired of the trickle down military aid for Ukraine as they slowly bleed out.
The Biden administration seems to be the only one unaware at this point.
Could’ve, would’ve should’ve.
Just do it. Promises won’t kill ruzzianz and win this war for Ukraine.
These missiles are critcal. However, we really need to send ground launchers for Tomahawk missiles. Sadly there are not enough ground launchers built yet. Why we are not working on building those 24/7 is beyond me.
TL; DR The USA needs to source more ATACMS before they can send any to Ukraine. Or they can promise to backfill other nations if they will send theirs to Ukraine.
If anyone doesn’t already know about the ongoing Battle of the Red Sea, that’s one example of why the USA must take this stance.
(No, as a naval conflict, the Battle of the Red Sea does not involve surface to surface missiles like ATACMS. That is not the point. The point is that the USA is highly aware of how many other conflicts around the world Russia could start. Today it’s a naval battle in the Middle East. Tomorrow it could be East Asia. As an ally, the USA does not want to be in the position of having to make choices between Ukraine and Taiwan, for example. And neither Taiwan nor Ukraine want their allies to be in that position, either.)
**could**