The Department of Defense quietly included long-range missiles, ATACMS, in one of the only aid packages it has been able to provide to Ukraine this year.
Pentagon officials affirmed on Wednesday that the department gave Ukraine Army Tactical Missile Systems last month after it announced its latest aid package.
Maj. Charlies Dietz, a Pentagon spokesman, told the Washington Examiner that President Joe Biden directed his national security team to provide these weapons, which he had previously declined to give Ukraine, in February. U.S. officials told the Associated Press that Ukraine bombed a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and hit Russian forces in another occupied area overnight.
The decision to provide Ukraine with long-range ATACMS came as House Republicans held up the White House’s effort to get more funding passed so they could continue providing Ukraine with military support. The Pentagon’s allocated support dried up in late December, preventing it from being able to provide more aid.
The Pentagon announced an aid package for Ukraine on March 12 totaling $300 million, which was only possible after the Army negotiated a lower price for replacing supplies already sent to Ukraine. The longer-range ATACMS, which Ukrainian leaders have long sought, was provided as a part of that package, Dietz said.
“We did not announce that we were providing Ukraine with this new capability at the time in order to maintain operational security for Ukraine at their request, and I will defer questions about their potential use to Ukraine since they should speak for their own military operations,” Dietz added. “Up until recently, and as we have said on many occasions, we were unable to provide long-range ATACMS to Ukraine because of readiness concerns. But behind the scenes, the Administration has been working relentlessly to address these concerns.”
The president had previously agreed to provide Ukraine with older ATACMS that have a smaller range, but Ukrainian leaders continued to press for the longer-range versions.
The Pentagon’s acknowledgment came the same day Biden signed the Ukraine national supplemental package into law. It provided more than $60 billion in funds available for the Pentagon to help Ukraine.
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Ukrainian forces have been forced to ration their ammunition and supplies in recent months, resulting in losses of territory due to the shortages caused by the stoppage of U.S. military support.
The Pentagon announced on Wednesday a $1 billion aid package for Ukraine that includes the longer-range ATACMS.