Ukraine Fires ATACMS Missile at Russian Forces for the First Time
U.S. missiles were secretly deployed to Ukraine in recent days
Ukraine launched ATACMS missiles at Russian forces on Tuesday, marking the first time that the U.S.-provided weapons have been used in the conflict in Ukraine.
A small number of the missiles have been secretly sent to Ukraine in recent days, where they will augment Kyiv’s capability to carry out long-range strikes at Russian forces during an important stage of its counteroffensive, according to people familiar with the matter.
Ukraine has long sought ATACMS, a surface-to-surface missile that can strike well behind Russian lines and that can be fired by the Himars, or High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers, the U.S. has provided the country.
On Tuesday, the Ukrainian military’s communication department said on the Telegram messaging app that it “made well-aimed strikes on enemy airfields and helicopters near the temporarily occupied Luhansk and Berdyansk.”
The ATACMS models that were provided have a range of about 100 miles.
The U.S. decision to send the ATACMS, which stands for the Army Tactical Missile System, has been long in the making. Ukraine repeatedly said the missiles were essential to its war plan, giving it the range it needed to strike targets behind the front lines in Russian-held Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said the attacks caused dozens of Russian casualties and destroyed nine Russian helicopters, an air defense launcher and an ammunition depot. It said the military struck the two airfields after receiving intelligence that Russia was using them as a major base for aircraft, military hardware and ammunition in the occupied territories.
Ukraine hasn’t officially confirmed the use of ATACMS. But in a speech posted to social media on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hinted at the use of the new weapons provided to Ukraine.
“I thank those who are destroying at scale the logistics and bases of the occupiers of our land. We have results,” he said. “I thank certain partners of ours: effective weapons, just as we agreed.”
Yuriy Ihnat, the spokesman for Ukraine’s Air Force, said that long-range strikes against Russian air bases are a crucial part of Ukraine’s broader strategy of weakening Russian forces as Ukraine continues its counteroffensive.
Russian helicopters have menaced Kyiv’s forces that are trying to push forward in parts of the south and east, operating from a distance that makes them unreachable for most of the air defenses.
Ihnat said longer-range strikes against Russian air bases will force the Russian military to keep its choppers further from the front, easing the pressure on Ukrainian troops. As a result, Russian helicopters would need to fly further to reach the front lines, which would diminish their ability to apply firepower and give Ukrainian forces more time to track those flights.