Ukrainian forces are increasingly using U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to target Russian airfields and warships deep behind enemy lines, a practice that has led to some success inside Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, but which Washington This has been banned. It limits Russia’s ability to repel Russian aggression.
Last week, Kiev forces launched three attacks using the Army’s tactical missile system, known as ATACMS. Airstrikes targeting air defense systems and missile ships in Russian-occupied areas of eastern and southern Ukraine have been reported by both sides, and their impact has been confirmed by an independent group analyzing geographic location footage of the battlefield.
Ukraine hopes the airstrikes will cripple Moscow’s ability to conduct military operations and ultimately help rescue troops struggling to halt Russia’s advance on the ground. But the United States and other Western allies, fearful of an escalation of the war, allowed Western weapons to be fired at Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine rather than at Russia.
Ukrainian officials have complained that the policy has allowed Moscow to launch attacks from inside Russia without risk and has limited Ukraine’s ability to repel them. “They understand that our partners do not give us permission to strike, and they are proceeding calmly,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the New York Times last week. “This is their big advantage.”
Now the Biden administration is under increasing pressure to reverse that policy as Ukraine struggles on the battlefield. The most recent call came from NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who told the Economist: “Denying Ukraine the possibility of using these weapons against legitimate military targets on Russian territory makes it very difficult for them to defend themselves.” He said.
Ukraine does not produce powerful long-range weapons and relies on Western allies to acquire them. But Washington has long refused to even provide ATACMS (pronounced “attack-em”). The fear was that doing so could escalate beyond one of the Kremlin’s “red lines.”
That changed late last year when President Biden approved sending Ukraine a version of ATACMS that can hit targets up to 100 miles away. Then, in April, Washington secretly provided Kiev with a new version of the weapon with a range of about 190 miles.
And on Friday, the United States announced a $275 million military package for Kiev that includes ammunition for HIMARS, a rocket launcher capable of firing ATACMS missiles. Prime Minister Zelensky thanked the White House on social media and said the package included “much-needed long-range missiles.”
The missiles allowed Ukraine to hit logistics and command posts behind Russian lines. Kiev was targeted for airfields, ammunition depots, anti-aircraft missile launchers and troop concentrations.
A particular target was the Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula, a supply hub for Moscow’s forces in the southeast and a launching pad for missile and drone attacks. Moscow has reported several attacks involving ATACMS missiles this month.
Last week, Ukrainian forces said they attacked the port of Sevastopol in Crimea and damaged a small missile ship. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said satellite images of the aftermath of the attack showed the ship was likely damaged.
In early May, Ukrainian forces attacked a Russian air defense system near an air base in Crimea, according to Oryx, a military analysis website that calculates losses based on visual evidence.
But Ukraine’s inability to fire weapons at Russia itself gave Russia a significant advantage, Ukrainian officials said. This became even clearer when Russian forces opened a new front in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region this month. Ahead of the attack, Moscow had built up troops and equipment near the border, but the alliance’s policy prohibited Ukraine from targeting them with Western weapons.
After about two weeks of intense fighting, Prime Minister Zelenskyy said Friday that the Russian advance had stopped and the situation was under control. Nonetheless, the offensive gives Moscow its largest territorial gains in Ukraine since late 2022.