[EspresoTV] The Ukrainian government is reportedly offering the US "full and permanent visibility" of lists of Russian targets planned to be hit by ATACMS. This actually gives the United States the opportunity to prohibit strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation, which in Washington can be seen as a sign of escalation and even involvement in the Russian-Ukrainian war."We have, in fact, described precisely what specific targets we need to hit on our territory, which we cannot achieve with what we have now. The categories of targets are clear and do not change," says the interlocutor from the Ukrainian side on condition of anonymity.
In particular, it is about: logistics routes, airfields, air bases and weapons warehouses in the south and east of Ukraine, including the occupied Crimea. ATACMS is also expected to allow Ukraine to strike Iranian drone launch sites, which Ukrainian forces are currently unable to do.
The White House believes that Ukraine has enough HIMARS salvo fire systems, and it is worth focusing on them, since some CNN interlocutors believe that the very fact of ATACMS approval can be considered in Moscow as crossing a "red line" and an excuse to call the US a party to the conflict.
One of CNN's interlocutors from the American side explains the refusal to provide ATACMS as follows: "little benefit, many risks." At the same time, Kyiv believes that the reason lies primarily in Washington's reluctance to overcome the "psychological threshold".
On September 25, the Pentagon announced that Ukraine currently does not need long-range missiles for HIMARS - ATACMS, which can hit at a distance of about 300 km.
On September 3, the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated that Ukraine did not receive long-range ATACMS missiles, because at this stage of the war it successfully performs its tasks with the help of shorter-range weapons.