US decision to send ATACMS made before Zelenskyy's visit – Financial Times
US President Joe Biden’s administration had decided to provide long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the US but chose not to announce this publicly.
Source: Financial Times, citing its sources, as reported by European Pravda
Details: One of the Financial Times sources noted that this was to avoid giving away any clues to the Russians that might encourage them to move their supply lines further from the front.
The FT sources said the US will send the missiles in the near future, initially in small batches.
The sources also repeated the already known information that Washington will provide Ukraine with a version of the missiles armed with cluster munitions rather than a single warhead.
Sending cluster missiles would help ease some concerns among US officials that the delivery of single-warhead missiles would deplete American stockpiles, the sources said.
Background:
- NBC News said Biden had told Zelenskyy at their White House meeting that Washington would supply Ukraine with a small batch of ATACMS to help it in the war with Russia.
- Earlier, Washington had explained that the US had refused to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles because they do not have sufficient stockpiles of them. Another reason, which US officials did not disclose publicly, is the fear of escalation from Russia’s side.
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