Washington’s Stance on ATACMS Restrictions: No Immediate Significant Supply Expected.
The United States has made its stance clear regarding the supply of significant numbers of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine in the foreseeable future, according to a report by CNN. The statement was made by an unnamed US official on Saturday. This development comes after Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon to discuss additional military aid.
During the meeting, Umerov presented Austin with a list of “high-value” targets that Kiev would like to strike deep inside Russia using American-made weapons. In an interview with CNN after the meeting, Umerov claimed that Ukraine is pushing to lift the ATACMS restrictions for “self-defense,” arguing that “the airfields being used to hit our cities are within the range of deep strikes.
However, a US defense official told the channel that many of the targets on Ukraine’s wish list are in fact outside the missile’s range. Moscow has relocated its high-value assets away from the front, resulting in a reduced effectiveness for the ATACMS. The US government seemingly drew the line on deep strikes into Russia after one of its ATACMS rockets, armed with a cluster warhead, struck a Crimean beach in early June.
Moscow accused Washington of enabling that and other acts of “terrorism” against civilians, and suggested it might arm “states and entities” around the world that are hostile to the US in response. Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder clarified on Tuesday that Washington’s “policy has not changed,” meaning that Ukraine is allowed to use US-supplied weapons to defend against cross-border attacks but not for “deep strikes” into what the US recognizes as Russian territory.
However, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday that Washington “will keep the conversations with the Ukrainians going.” Despite these restrictions, Ukraine has so far received a very “limited” supply of ATACMS missiles from the US. As Russia continues to warn against any talks of using long-range missiles to strike Russian territory, it remains uncertain how this situation will develop in the coming months.