WASHINGTON—The U.S. is close to approving a long-range missile system for Ukraine, American and European officials said, as Russia grapples with unrest in its military leadership and uncertainty on the battlefield.
The Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, has a range of about 190 miles, enough for Ukrainian forces to strike Russian targets far behind the front lines. President Biden hasn't signed off on the transfer, in part out of concern among U.S. officials that Ukraine could use it to strike Russian territory and escalate the conflict into a wider war with the West.
Officials said that the matter is pending approval at the highest levels. But officials in the U.S. and Europe have seen signs that previously reluctant quarters of the U.S. government, namely the White House, have come to see an urgent need to bolster Ukraine's fight in the coming weeks.
But amid the domestic turmoil in Russia, where over the weekend the founder of the Wagner mercenary force staged an abortive mutiny, U.S. and European officials acknowledged that now might be the time to step on the gas.
A senior Ukrainian defense official told The Wall Street Journal that Kyiv had received positive signs in recent weeks that the U.S. had come around on the ATACMS system. Ukrainian officials have argued that the long-range missiles are needed, in part, to strike into Crimea, the peninsula occupied by Russia that Russian forces are using as a base to launch Iranian-made drones, according to public statements by the U.S. and its European allies.
The White House national security council and the Pentagon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
U.S. Considers ATACMS Long-Range Missiles to Bolster Ukraine’s Fight - WSJ
