NBC: The United States wants to transfer longer-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine for attacks on Crimea

The US authorities are inclined to transfer to Kyiv a new version of longer-range ATACMS missiles for attacks on remote areas of Crimea. This was reported by NBC News, citing sources.

It is noted that at the end of 2023, the United States began supplying Ukraine with army tactical missile systems, known as ATACMS , but so far only older medium-range systems have been sent. The United States is now leaning toward sending a longer-range version of the missile that would allow Ukraine to strike the remote Crimean peninsula, according to an NBC News report.

According to the channel, the prospects for financing arms supplies to Ukraine remain uncertain “due to opposition from former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress.”

Defense officials told NBC News that the United States has a limited supply of ATACMS, making Washington unlikely to send the missiles to Kiev without the money to replenish its own arsenal .

If Congress approves increased funding for Ukraine, the United States could include longer-range ATACMS systems in one of its upcoming military aid packages, U.S. officials say. “The United States also has ammunition and artillery, which it is ready to immediately send to Ukraine if funding is approved,” the channel’s sources added.

American officials did not rule out the possibility that the United States “might ask allies to provide Ukraine with missiles and replenish ATACMS stocks.”