President Joe Biden reportedly told Volodymyr Zelensky during a White House meeting this week that the U.S. will send Ukraine long-range ATACMS missiles, amid growing questions about the continued funding of the war.
In addition to the $325 million military aid package, Biden reportedly pledged during a meeting with Zelensky on Thursday to supply the war-torn country with ATACMS missiles. The long-range missiles, which can hit targets up to 190 miles away, would represent a significant upgrade for the Ukrainian forces, which currently only have missiles capable of striking at a range of around 150 miles.
Kyiv has long lobbied Washington for the Pentagon to supply ATACMS, however, the Biden administration has previously been hesitant to make the move for fear of escalating the war with Russia. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal citing U.S. officials, the Ukrainians have provided assurances that they would not use the long-range missiles to strike Russian territory.
The Defense Department was also reportedly concerned that supplying Kyiv with ATACMS could dangerously reduce U.S. supplies of the missiles, potentially putting the military at a disadvantage if another conflict breaks out in Asia or the Middle East.
However, according to the report, such concerns were allayed by the Biden administration’s decision to allow cluster munitions to be sent to Ukraine, thereby expanding the available ATACMS to send to the country given that some are equipped with cluster fixtures. The weapons type, which explodes mid-air in order to rain down on a large area, has been banned by over 100 countries given their high rate of failure and propensity to explode at a later time, putting civilians at risk.