Biden's advisor Sullivan reveals who resisted providing ATACMS to Ukraine

The national security adviser to the US president, Jake Sullivan, said this in an interview with the New Yorker.

Biden's adviser explained that the US decision to provide one or another weapon to Ukraine has its own logic. For example, in the case of Abrams tanks, Washington sought to reach an agreement with Germany, in the case of cluster bombs, the State Department was against it for a long time.

"Sometimes it was the Pentagon or the President personally, as with the ATACMS," he said.

Biden feared that providing ATACMS would mean an "unacceptable escalation" for Russia, as their range allows them to hit targets on Russian territory. “But once the British began providing similar missiles, in the spring of 2023, the argument no longer seemed to apply.”

At the same time, a senior Pentagon official told the New Yorker that providing Ukraine with long-range missiles "would deplete our stocks at a time when we require those missiles for our own contingencies, whether that be Iran or North Korea or China.”

Sullivan himself, according to a former American official, offered Biden to use the threat of sending ATACMS as leverage with the Russians. 

“So he’s been making that argument for at least six months now, and the President was not willing to do it. At some point, the President is the President,” the article reads. 

What is known about sending ATACMS to Ukraine

On April 19, the United States announced another USD 325 million military aid package to Ukraine, which included HIMARS and artillery shells.

At the end of May, representatives of the US Congress called on Biden to send the missiles to Ukraine. In a letter addressed to the US President, the leaders of the bipartisan Helsinki Commission called on the White House to authorize the delivery of the US Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to Ukraine.

On June 10, members of both parties in the US House of Representatives introduced a resolution calling on Joe Biden to send ATACMS to Ukraine.

On June 21, the House Foreign Affairs Committee supported a resolution to Biden calling for the immediate delivery of ATACMS to Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States is close to making a decision to provide Ukraine with long-range tactical missile systems ATACMS.

The WP reported that the US does not have enough ATACMS missiles to provide them to Ukraine. 

On September 9, it was reported that the United States may provide missiles to Ukraine in the next aid package.

On September 12, media reported that the Biden administration was 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 reported that Ukraine is close to receiving ATACMS missiles from the United States this fall.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on September 15, that the Ukrainian military will use US missiles as they see appropriate. 

During the talks in the White House on September 22, US President Joe Biden has reportedly assured Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine would receive a small number of ATACMS missiles.

On September 28, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine was discussed during a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Joe Biden, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last week.

On October 3, Bloomberg reported that the Pentagon is ready to provide Ukraine with ATACMS missiles very quickly – they are only waiting for the final approval of US President Joe Biden.