The US government has supplied Ukraine with MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), multiple US media sources reported on 24 April 2024.
The ATACMS missile transfers to Ukraine were approved by US President Joe Biden in February 2024 and quietly included in a USD 300 million (EUR 279.5 million) aid package supplied to Ukraine that was announced on 12 March and delivered to Ukraine in early April.
The ATACMS transfer was not explicitly announced at the time to preserve operational security.
On 24 April White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed at a media briefing that a “significant number” of ATACMS missiles had been sent to Ukraine and that the US “will send more”.
“Until recently … we were unable to provide these ATACMS because of readiness concerns, but behind the scenes the administration across the board has worked relentlessly to address those concerns,” said Sullivan. “We now have a significant number of ATACMS coming off the production line and entering US stocks. And as a result we can move forward with providing ATACMS [to Ukraine] while also sustaining the readiness of the US armed forces.
Sullivan added that the decision to provide ATACMS to Ukraine “followed Russia’s procurement and use of North Korea’s ballistic missiles against Ukraine, as well as Russia’s renewed and escalating attacks against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine”.
Provision of ATACMS to Ukraine is significant because the system has a range of 300 km, putting all of Russian-held Ukraine – and beyond into Russian territory – within striking distance. Ukraine had requested ATACMS since the early stages of the Russian invasion, which began in February 2022.
Sullivan noted in his press briefing, however, that Ukraine has committed to only use the weapons inside Ukraine and not to attack Russian territory.
ATACMS missiles, which are manufactured by Lockheed Martin, can be launched by both the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), both of which have been supplied to Ukraine by its Western allies.
According to US media reports, the United States has previously supplied cluster munitions variants of ATACMS to Ukraine, but these had a shorter range of 165 km. They were first used in October 2023 to target Russian airfields near Berdyansk and Luhansk in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.
