About this it is said in an official letter to the President of the United States.
“We are writing to urge you to immediately send ATACMS army tactical missile systems to Ukraine. An additional delay will only further undermine US national security interests and expand this conflict,” the senators said.
Roger Wicker, Tom Cotton, Suzanne Collins and Lindsey Graham emphasized that providing ATACMS would allow Ukraine to strike key Russian logistics and communications targets, as well as launch sites for cruise missiles and UAVs on Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.
“In particular, the ATACMS longer-range unitary warhead variant must be deployed without delay. The recent Ukrainian strike on the Sevastopol seaport using the British long-range Storm Shadow weapon demonstrated the combat effectiveness of such a weapon. Providing Ukraine with this weapon will maximize the likelihood of success in its current counteroffensive and subsequent operations. ATACMS can also increase Ukraine’s ability to destroy Russian defense formations,” the senators added.
With reports of just 30 days remaining in the typical combat season, it is imperative that the United States immediately provide ATACMS, they said, “so that Ukraine can achieve vital objectives before winter and deny Russia the opportunity to strengthen its position.”
“The US is perfectly capable of providing such weapons without any appreciable risk to its own warfighting capabilities. Ukraine has significantly degraded Russian combat power and needs only a small fraction of our ATACMS stockpile. In addition, the US has the ability to produce hundreds of ATACMS and Precision Strike Missiles per year and to replenish their stocks in the near term,” the Republicans note.
The letter also states that delay will only cost more lives and prolong the war in Ukraine.
“We urge you to give permission for the immediate dispatch of ATACMS to Ukraine,” the senators stated.
What is known about sending ATACMS to Ukraine
On April 19, the United States of America announced another $325 million package of military aid to Ukraine, which will include shells for HIMARS and artillery.
At the end of May, representatives of the US Congress already called on Biden to send the aforementioned missiles to Ukraine. In a letter addressed to the President of the United States, the leaders of the bipartisan Helsinki Commission called on the White House to authorize the delivery of the American Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to Ukraine.
On June 10, members of both parties in the lower house of the US Congress presented a resolution calling on Joe Biden to transfer ATACMS to Ukraine. And on June 21, the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs supported a resolution to Biden with a call to immediately provide Ukraine with ATACMS.
Subsequently, The Wall Street Journal informed that the United States came close to making a decision to provide Ukraine with ATACMS long-range tactical missile systems.
WP reported that the US does not have enough ATACMS missiles to transfer them to Ukraine
Oleg Katkov, editor-in-chief of Defense Express, said on Espresso that Ukraine needs ATACMS cluster missiles, but not the fact that the USA has them.
On August 7, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and emphasized the need for ATACMS for the Armed Forces.
Already in September, it became known that the USA could transfer missiles to Ukraine in the next aid packages.
It was also reported that the Biden administration is close to approving the supply of longer-range missiles to Ukraine, which are immediately equipped with cluster munitions.
On September 15, The Wall Street Journal wrote that Ukraine is close to receiving ATACMS missiles from the US already this fall.
At the same time, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the Ukrainian military will use American missiles as they see fit.
Fuente: espreso.tv
