US Sends LONG-range ATACMS Missiles To Ukraine, Russia: Increase Security Threats But Don't Change War Results

Illustration of ATACMS MGM-140 and Hyunmoo-2 missile launch drills by the US and South Korean Armys. (Wikimedia Commons/Sinthia Rosario)

JAKARTA - Russia considers sending a long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to Ukraine cannot be justified, poses a security threat, but is believed not to change the outcome of the war.

The United States has secretly delivered long-range missiles to Ukraine for use in the fighting against Russia in recent weeks, twice used in attacks, an official said Wednesday, as reported by Reuters on April 25.

"Local officials have reduced the fact that a very dangerous weapon has been sent to Kyiv," said Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov in comments posted on the embassy's Telegram channel, quoted from TASS.

"Obviously sending ATACMS to the (President of Ukraine Volodymyr) Zelensky increases threats to Crimean security, including Sevastopol, Russia's new territory, and other Russian cities," he explained.

Not only that, Ambassador Antonov also criticized US guarantees that the Ukrainian military allegedly promised not to use the missile against targets in Russia, as a very cynical thing.

"Who should be convinced by such lies? How can we ignore the various terrorist attacks carried out by criminals in Kyiv? Deadly attacks on hospitals, schools, kindergartens, bridges and even their own soldiers?" he asked.

He added that Russian troops had shot down several ATACMS missiles and would continue to do so.

"Both missiles and other weapons cannot help defeat the Russian Federation," he stressed.

"Washington will not be able to get out of the terrible swamp that has absorbed the blood of ordinary soldiers," he said.

Separately, the Kremlin said US long-range ATCS deliveries to Ukraine would not change the outcome of the war, but would create more problems for Ukraine itself.

"The US is directly involved in this conflict. They are following the path to increasing the range of weapons systems operations they supply," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"This will not change the results of special military operations fundamentally. We will achieve our goals. But this will cause more problems for Ukraine itself," he said.

The United States has secretly delivered long-range missiles to Ukraine for use in fighting against Russia in recent weeks, twice used in attacks, an official said Wednesday.

The missiles were used for the first time on April 17 against a Russian airfield in Crimea about 165 km (103 miles) from Ukraine's front line, the official said.