While the US has been steadily escalating its military support for Ukraine, the Biden administration has held off sending the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMs), munitions that have a range of up to 190 miles and can be fired from the HIMARS rocket systems.
One reason for not sending the ATACMs is that they could be used to target Russian territory, risking a major escalation of the war, although the administration is much less concerned about escalation than it was earlier in the conflict. According to a report from POLITICO, the US is also telling Ukraine it doesn’t have enough ATACMs to spare.
Citing people familiar with recent talks at the Pentagon, the report said US officials conveyed to representatives from Ukraine that the US military doesn’t have any ATACMs in its stocks. They said if the US sends ATACMs to Ukraine, it will make the US military less prepared for a future fight.
US military stockpiles are already dwindling by arming Ukraine as an enormous amount of ammunition has been sent to the country, specifically 155mm artillery shells. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that Ukraine is using ammunition faster than the alliance can produce, raising questions about the sustainability of supporting the war.
The POLITICO report said that Ukraine is considering asking the US to approve the purchase of ATACMs from a US ally that has them. Under the plan, the US would provide the financing for the deal. South Korea, Poland, Romania, Greece, Turkey, Qatar, and Bahrain are all armed with ATACMs.
The report said that the US is still concerned that sending ATACMs could escalate the war. But the administration has pledged other weapons it previously ruled out over escalation concerns. Most recently, the US said it purchased Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB) for Ukraine, which can hit targets up to 94 miles away, almost twice the strike range of the munitions Ukraine is currently using with the HIMARS systems.
Shitty centralized planning may save us yet.
Don’t count on it. This is double-talk to mask the move and preserve deniability.
Give peace a chance.
The two warring parties did. Boris scuttled it.
Why is that clown show POS still relevant?
ZelBoy is throwing a temper tantrum and rending his garments (green shirt and camo pants.)
“The
report said that Ukraine is considering asking the
US to approve the purchase of ATACMs from a US ally that has them.
Under the plan, the US would provide the financing for the deal. South
Korea, Poland, Romania, Greece, Turkey, Qatar, and Bahrain are all armed
with ATACMs.” Isn’t that the definition of racketeering?
Biden, Blinken, Austin. The three stooges… Zelensky, Stoltenberg, von der Leyen. The ringmasters.
Now, that’s a circus.