two Russian sites already targeted after a discreet delivery of American missiles to kyiv

These ATACMS missiles are part of a previous $300 million military aid package. Barely received; these new weapons have already been used.

They can pierce enemy lines. In recent weeks, the United States has discreetly delivered long-range ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) missiles to Ukraine. These missiles, which are part of a military aid package of 300 million dollars, approved on March 12 by American President Joe Biden, are therefore not part of the new aid of 61 billion adopted at the beginning of the week by Congress .

However, this discreet delivery is a political and perhaps military turning point: the decision was taken by Joe Biden who was until then reluctant, fearing a weakening of the American army’s stocks. Objective: not to alert Moscow of this delivery. This weapon has until now been insistently requested by the Ukrainians: it can indeed be decisive. The ATACMS should allow the army to strike Russian rear bases, thanks to their range of 300 km. Although a first version restricted to 165 km has already been delivered, this new version can allow the Ukrainians to hope to hit the strategic Kerch bridge which connects Crimea to Russian territory, or even the headquarters of the Russian army, installed in Rostov-on-Don.

Two targets already targeted

This major shift in US policy was prompted by Moscow’s repeated use of ballistic missiles and targeting of critical infrastructure in Ukraine in recent days. In short: the Americans believed that forces needed to be rebalanced. The Kiev forces have already used them twice, declared Wednesday April 24, 2024 by the State Department: a military airfield in Crimea, mid-April, and Russian troops in the port of Berlioz on the sea of Azov, Tuesday April 23.

And the American State Department clarified: Russia should not see this as a provocation, says the spokesperson for the National Security Council. Moscow, he says, already uses long-range missiles supplied by North Korea. “The United States is directly involved in this conflict, it has taken a path aimed at increasing the range of weapons systems“, declared the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, Thursday April 25. He judges that “this will not be able to change the outcome of the special military operation“.

The fact remains that, on the ground, Ukraine is faced with a shortage of volunteer soldiers, after more than two years of war against the Russian invader, which left tens of thousands dead. kyiv has just widened the mobilization, lowering the age of Ukrainians who can be called up from 27 to 25 years old. The country, which is seeking to bring back its citizens of fighting age, will no longer issue passports abroad to men aged 18 to 60, according to a text published by the government. The White House thus estimated “possible“next”advances“Russian troops in Ukraine.