2023-06-30 08:37:00
The United States is evaluating the delivery of a long-range missile system, the Atacms, to Ukraine. American and European officials told the Wall Street Journal. This missile defense system has a range of up to 300 kilometers and may be capable of striking far behind the front lines, even on Russian territory. So far, US President Joe Biden has not yet signed off on the transfer, partly because some US officials fear that Ukraine could use it to strike Russian territory and escalate the conflict.
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The Atacms missiles, launched from the Himars launcher, would allow Ukrainian forces to strike Russian nodes for logistics, command and control well beyond the front lines. The precision-guided missiles can strike intelligence-identified GPS-tracked targets with pinpoint accuracy, preventing Russia from putting its rearguard operations out of Ukraine’s reach. The missiles’ long-range range would likely force Russia to withdraw supplies and command posts more than 300 kilometers from the front, making it more difficult for battlefield troops to resupply.
Officials quoted by the Wall Street Journal said delivery of the long-range missiles is pending approval, while the US administration is assessing the situation on the ground in Ukraine. Meanwhile, European officials have been exerting private pressure on Washington to deliver longer-range missile systems. Their hope is that, as the US has reversed course on other weapons, including Abrams tanks and launchers of the High Mobility Artillery Missile System, or Himar, it would do so for Atacms missiles.
The Wall Street Journal also heard from a senior Ukrainian defense official, who said in recent weeks Kiev has received positive signals that the United States is willing to hand over the Atacms system. Ukrainian officials believe the system is also needed to target Crimea, the peninsula occupied by Russia and which is used as a base to launch Iranian-made drones, according to public statements by the United States and its European allies.
In early June, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution calling for the Biden administration to supply Ukraine with ATACMS, increasing pressure on the White House and Pentagon to supply the weapons. Officials in the US and Europe have now seen signs that even the previously reluctant White House is assessing an urgent need to support Ukraine’s struggle in the coming weeks.
KIEV SHOCKS 10 DRONES OVER THE NIGHT
“Last night, the Russian army attacked military infrastructure in the Zaporizhzhia region. Four S-300 missiles and 13 “Shahed” drones were fired. The Air Defense Forces shot down ten drones.” This is claimed by the Air Force of Ukraine, quoted by the Suspilne television station. “No one was injured in the night attack on Zaporizhzhia – add the Kiev air force – A fire broke out in Mykolaiv due to the fall of fragments of downed drones. There were no injuries”.
007 KIEV: “RUSSIAN PRESENCE IN ZAPORIZHZHIA IS REDUCING”
“According to the latest information, the Russian contingent is gradually withdrawing from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.” The Intelligence Office of the Defense Ministry in Kiev wrote on Telegram, about a week after warnings from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, according to which Moscow was planning a “terrorist attack” in the facility, which would have caused the release of radiation .
“Among the first to leave the plant were three employees of Rosatom, who managed the shares of the Russians. Ukrainian employees who signed a contract with Rosatom were also recommended to leave,” the ministry stressed, adding that according to “the instructions that have been given, they should be gone by July 5th.” Among those who have left the plant are several senior officials, the ministry explains, according to which many could go “to the territory of occupied Crimea”. “Furthermore – highlights Kiev – also the number of military patrols is gradually decreasing in the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and in the satellite city of Energodar”.
“Staff remaining at the plant have been instructed to ‘blame Ukraine in an emergency,'” accuses the Intelligence Bureau. “Russia has not commented on this – concludes Kiev – but the Kremlin has recently stated that Zelensky’s accusations are ‘another lie'”.
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