Ukraine missed chance to destroy Russia’s best warplanes due to U.S. restrictions — media

However, the United States did not authorize the use of ATACMS missiles for this operation, according to Forbes.

The publication reports that, earlier in the summer, the Russian Air Force’s 47th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment stationed dozens of Su-34 aircraft in an open area at the Malshevo air base in Voronezh, about 160 km from the Ukrainian border. These aircraft typically drop aerial guided bombs on Ukraine.

“Voronezh Malshevo is a reasonably well-defended base, so the Ukrainians pleaded for permission to fire their best American-made Army Tactical Missile System rockets at the base. The ATACMs are almost impossible to intercept. But the administration of U.S. Pres. Joe Biden said no,” the publication reads.

The White House emphasized that Ukraine would only be allowed to fire ATACMS at targets in Russian-occupied territories. 

Discussions about ATACMS did not go unnoticed by the Russians, prompting them to withdraw Su-34s from Malshevo in Voronezh and other border airfields. 

Today, many Su-34s are stationed at bases hundreds of miles from the border, making them now invulnerable to both Ukrainian drones and ATACMS.

If the White House ever grants permission for ATACMS raids on Russian bases, it might be too late, Forbes adds.

• On the night of August 3, the Ukrainian army attacked the Morozovsk airfield and a number of oil depots and fuel and lubricant storage facilities in three Russian regions.