US gives Ukraine about 20 ATACMS missiles - media

This is reported by The New York Times.

Two Western officials said the United States has sent about 20 ATACMS missiles to Ukraine.

The number of missiles, the officials said, was small. They are cluster munitions that eject 950 small bombs and can cause damage over a wide area. This type of weapon is banned by an international treaty to which the United States is not a signatory.

It is noted that the version of the missile sent by the United States has a limited range. However, it is enough to reach almost all the main bases that Russia used to provide air support and supply its troops in Ukraine.

One of the conditions imposed on the Ukrainians is that the ATACMS cannot be used to attack Russian territory, one of the officials said.

What happened before

On the night of October 16-17, Ukrainian defenders successfully attacked Russian helicopters and airfields in Luhansk and Berdyansk.

Foreign media reported that during this attack, Ukraine used for the first time against Russian troops the American long-range ATACMS missiles, which the United States had secretly sent a few days earlier.

In the evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced their use against Russian troops, and Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi demonstrated how Ukrainian defenders used them.

The White House confirmed the delivery of missiles to Ukraine.

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 Antony 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.