US secretly sent long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine
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The United States has confirmed that it secretly sent long-range missiles to Ukraine for use on the battlefield against Russia.
US President Joe Biden approved the delivery of the long-range Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, in February and March, and Ukraine has reportedly used them twice.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the missiles had been shipped in response to Russia procuring weapons from other countries.
“This 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,” he said.
Sullivan did not say how many ATACMS had been sent to Ukraine or if they would be part of the latest military aid package signed into law on Wednesday. That funding includes €57 billion for Ukraine.
“We've already sent some, we will send more now that we have additional both authority and money. I'm not going to get into specific numbers for operational reasons. I believe they will make a difference,” Sullivan said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Kyiv has credible intelligence that Russia plans to disrupt the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland in June.
In a post on X, he claimed Russia already has a plan of how to disrupt the meeting, “including how to reduce the number of participating countries and how to act in order to thwart peace efforts for even longer.”
Switzerland announced earlier this month that it would host the two-day international conference at Lake Lucerne on 15-16 June.
Zelenskyy said he expects between 80-100 countries to attend but Swiss authorities have not announced who will participate.
However, Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd admitted in February that Russia was unlikely to attend.
