"Still in play": Biden says issue of providing Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles under consideration
Kyiv has proposed that Washington allow other countries to sell ATACMS to Ukraine instead of direct deliveries
Providing Ukraine with ATACMS long-range ballistic missiles is still under consideration, US President Joe Biden has said.
Asked by journalist Alex Raufoglu whether it was time to provide Ukraine with such missiles after the massive russian attacks in the capital, Biden replied: "That question is still in play."
He also added that the intensification of attacks on Kyiv did not come as a surprise, so the United States should continue to provide Ukraine with everything it needs.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called on Washington to provide Kyiv with ATACMS, which can hit targets at a distance of up to 300 km. He emphasized that such weapons would deprive the russian military of the ability to deploy its missile launchers far from the front line and destroy Ukrainian cities.
The United States refused, fearing an escalation of the conflict, after which Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov guaranteed that the Armed Forces would not use long-range missiles to strike russian territory.
In February of this year, Politico sources reported that deploying ATACMS to the battlefield in Ukraine would reduce U.S. stockpiles and harm U.S. readiness to repel possible threats.
Kyiv has proposed that instead of direct deliveries, Washington allow other countries to sell ATACMS to Ukraine, one of the sources said. In particular, this could be done by South Korea, Poland, Romania, Greece, Turkey, Qatar, and Bahrain.
