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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| White House confirms ATACMS delivery |
| 2023-10-18 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. From regnum.ru CNN: The US transferred ATACMS to Ukraine secretly so that Russia did not have time to remove the equipment The US leadership kept the transfer of ATACMS long-range missiles to Ukraine secret to prevent the Russian army from taking military equipment and important weapons beyond their range, CNN reported on October 17, citing information from two US officials. According to them, Washington hoped that these missiles would allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to strike Russian targets that were previously out of reach. “The United States decided to send them secretly because they wanted to catch the Russians by surprise,” the channel’s journalists said. Earlier, military expert, retired colonel, director of the Air Defense Forces Museum Yuri Knutov, in a conversation with Regnum , suggested that the United States kept the supply of ATACMS secret, trying to surprise Russia. He also said that these missiles are similar in characteristics to the Ukrainian Tochka-U missiles and their use will not change the situation at the front . The declared range of ATACMS missiles is about 300 km, however, according to the Associated Press, the batch that was transferred to Kiev has worse performance. The United States decided to send these missiles, fearing further aggravation of relations with Russia. The authors of the material also reported that the missiles were equipped with cluster munitions. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky confirmed on October 17 that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have begun to use ATACMS missiles. He thanked the United States and said the new weapon "proved to work." The head of the public movement “We are together with Russia,” Vladimir Rogov, previously reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched an attack with ATACMS missiles on Berdyansk, Zaporozhye region, on the night of October 17. He noted that the type of weapon became clear from the cluster munitions found. Rogov also reported that Russian air defense systems in Berdyansk repelled a missile attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. More from regnum.ru Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine has begun to use ATACMS missiles Ukraine received long-range ATACMS missiles from the United States and began to use them, the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky, said on October 17. “Today, special thanks to the United States. Our agreements with President (USA Joseph. - Ed.) Biden are being fulfilled. They are executed very accurately - the “attakams” have shown themselves,” said the head of the Kiev regime in his daily address to the residents of Ukraine. As reported by IA Regnum , earlier the Associated Press agency, citing informed sources, reported that long-range ATACMS missiles supplied by the United States to Ukraine are equipped with cluster shells. According to these data, Washington, in order to avoid further aggravation of relations with Russia, transferred missiles to Kyiv with a slightly shorter range than the Ukrainian authorities requested, and the delivery of ATACMS took place in secrecy. On the night of October 17, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked Berdyansk, Zaporozhye region, using ATACMS missiles, this is confirmed by cluster munitions found in the city, the head of the public movement “We are together with Russia” Vladimir Rogov previously said. On September 22, Biden promised to transfer a “small” batch of ATACMS to Kyiv. US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Technology Douglas Bush said on October 3 that Washington is ready to send cluster munition missiles to Ukraine as soon as the US President gives such an order. On October 9, the American magazine The New Yorker reported that the head of the White House approved the transfer of ATACMS long-range operational-tactical missiles to Kiev back in September 2023. The main argument against the supply of these missiles was the fear of escalating the conflict, while some representatives of the American administration proposed using the threat of sending them “to put pressure on Russia,” the authors of the publication noted. Neither the United States nor Kiev were going to officially announce the transfer of ATACMS missiles, because they wanted to “surprise” Russia, military expert, retired colonel, director of the Air Defense Forces Museum Yuri Knutov noted earlier in an interview with Regnum news agency . Moreover, if the supply of shells does not change the situation on the front line, there are fears that ATACMS will be used to intimidate civilians, the expert added. Even more from regnum.ru Rogov reported that cluster shells from ATACMS missiles were found in Berdyansk On the night of October 17, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked Berdyansk, Zaporozhye region, using American long-range ATACMS missiles, this is confirmed by cluster munitions found in the city, Vladimir Rogov, head of the public movement “We are together with Russia,” told RIA Novosti. “According to preliminary data, M74 cluster munitions from ATACMS ballistic missiles were discovered in Berdyansk after night strikes by Ukrainian Armed Forces militants,” he said. Rogov noted that officially in the United States they are only talking about negotiations on the transfer of missiles to Ukraine, once again hiding arms supplies. He said that the Ukrainian army also used American-made GLSDB guided bombs during the shelling. As Regnum reported , Rogov reported on the morning of October 17 that Russian air defense systems successfully repelled an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Berdyansk; there was no data on destruction in the city. The Associated Press reported on October 17 that the United States has already supplied ATACMS missiles to Ukraine in strict secrecy. The publication also noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already used these weapons. According to journalists, Washington, fearing a new round of aggravation of relations with Russia, transferred shorter-range missiles, but with cluster shells. Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexey Goncharenko (included in the Rosfinmonitoring list of terrorists and extremists) also reported that ATACMS missiles have already been delivered to Ukrainian territory. He confirmed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces used them against Russian targets in Berdyansk. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov emphasized in September that the capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces after receiving ATACMS will not change significantly, and therefore the Ukrainian side will not be able to reverse the situation at the front . He added that there are no such types of weapons that can significantly affect the course of a special operation. |
| Posted by:DarthVader |
| #4 Wait... that's not actually Groucho? |
| Posted by: Thrumble Snumble4393 2023-10-18 20:46 |
| #3 Hi, Herb! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2023-10-18 19:17 |
| #2 Great! Now we can strike deep into Russia and widen the war! This will surely turn out well. Because the deep state has been doing such a bang-up job on the war so far. And all of the other wars it lost in the last 20 years. |
| Posted by: Ulomorong Croting3271 2023-10-18 17:52 |
| #1 Fewer than 20 missiles. Block 1 with 165km range. |
| Posted by: Gerthudion Glaise9097 2023-10-18 13:49 |