Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country’s military used a new type of missile provided by the US after President Joe Biden agreed to supply the weapons.
(Bloomberg) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country’s military used a new type of missile provided by the US after President Joe Biden agreed to supply the weapons.
“Special thanks today to the United States,” Zelenskiy said in a daily video statement Tuesday. “Our agreements with President Biden are being fulfilled. They are being fulfilled precisely. ATACMS missiles have proved themselves.”
Earlier today, Ukraine’s military said missile strikes on Russian airfields in occupied Luhansk in the east and Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov destroyed nine Russian helicopters, an air-defense missile unit and an ammunition depot as well as damaging the runways of both airfields.
“A major high value-target, with a large range of expensive equipment, seemed to go up at once,” Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said in a note. “If so it would be the single most important strike on Russian aviation since the start of the full-scale invasion almost 20 months ago.”
Army Set to ‘Go Fast’ Once Biden Approves ATACMS for Ukraine (1)
A US official confirmed Tuesday the long-range missiles had been sent to Ukraine.
Biden last month agreed to supply Ukraine with a limited number of ATACMS, or the Army Tactical Missile System. Biden and US lawmakers have sought to assure Zelenskiy that Washington remains committed to supporting Ukraine’s defenses against Russia’s invasion.
There are several versions of the missiles, including ones that carry cluster munitions or regular warheads. Cluster-armed ATACMS has a range of between 15-190 miles (25-300 kilometers). The weapons can carry between 300 to 950 cluster munitions, according to the service’s official weapons handbook.
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