Biden tells Zelenskyy U.S. will provide Ukraine with ATACMS long-range missiles
CBSN
President Joe Biden has informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the U.S. will provide Ukraine with long-range missiles topped with cluster munitions, U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News on Friday. Known as ATACMS – Army Tactical Missile System – have a range of up to 190 miles and can be launched from the HIMARS mobile rocket launchers the Ukrainian military has already received.
The decision comes after a months-long appeal by Zelenskyy, who met with Biden at the White House on Thursday following a visit to the U.N. General Assembly earlier in the week, to discuss the ongoing counteroffensive and the nature of U.S. support to Kyiv, as the grinding war stretches into its 20th month.
American officials had balked at sending the missiles to Ukraine, out of concern that drawing from stockpiles could undermine U.S. military readiness and the possibility Russia would view the move as escalatory. The missiles will allow the Ukrainian military to strike at Russian supply lines and command posts well beyond the front lines.
