Ukraine asks US for ATACMS long-range missiles despite warnings from Russia
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has made an urgent call on the United States to provide his country with long-range missiles to be used in the war with Russia.
The Ukrainian foreign minister made the request in a phone conversation with his American counterpart, Antony Blinken, during which he demanded ATACMS long-range missiles despite Moscow’s repeated warnings about the consequences of Western arms supplies to Kiev.
"I thanked the US for all the assistance provided and stressed the need to enhance Ukraine's long-range capabilities by providing ATACMS [long-range missiles]," he said in a post on X messaging platform, formerly known as Twitter.
In our call, @SecBlinken and I discussed further steps to broaden global support for the Peace Formula and solutions to expand grain exports. I thanked the U.S. for all the assistance provided and stressed the need to enhance Ukraine's long-range capabilities by providing ATACMS.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) August 7, 2023
Kiev has repeatedly urged its Western allies to provide it with ATACMS missiles, which have a range of about 300 kilometers, roughly four times the range of the missiles used by the mobile HIMARS systems that the US began sending to Ukraine last year.
Ukraine says the ATACMS missiles will help its forces strike Russian positions far behind the front lines.
The US has been leading a coalition of Western states arming Ukraine since the war with Russia began in February last year.
Washington has already provided Kiev with HIMARS launchers, which are capable of firing ATACMS missiles and has also provided it with tens of billions of dollars in military assistance.
The US Defense Department in late June dismissed American media reports about its decision to provide Ukraine with ATACMS long-range missiles.
Speaking at a press briefing, Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder ruled out any imminent decisions for supplying Kiev with long-range missiles.
Russian officials have repeatedly announced that flooding Ukraine with Western weapons will only serve to prolong the war and add to the suffering of Ukrainian people.
Back in June, Russia warned that any supply of long-range missiles to Kiev by its Western backers would lead to a further round of "spiraling tension" in the ongoing conflict.
The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the remarks following reports that Germany and France were planning to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles.
"We are already starting to see discussions about deliveries from France and Germany of missiles with a range of 500 km or more," Peskov said.
"This is a completely different weapon, which will lead to, let's say, another round of spiraling tension," he added.
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