As the newspaper reported, Washington refuses to supplyNEW YORK, October 7.
/tass/. Ukraine is asking the United States to supply long-range weapons, including ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) missiles. Kiev needs them in order to hit the territory of Russia and, in particular, the Crimea, Washington refuses to supply. This was reported on Thursday by The Wall Street Journal newspaper, citing American officials and Congressional representatives.
"The reason why we are not providing them with these weapons is that we do not agree with the strikes on Crimea," an unnamed representative of the US Congress told the publication.
Ukrainian officials convinced American lawmakers that the missiles were necessary to launch strikes on a drone base allegedly located in Crimea.
Meanwhile, as the newspaper notes, American officials believe that Kiev does not need long-range missiles at this stage of the conflict. If they are given to Ukraine, they fear, Moscow may perceive such a step as an escalation.
In addition, the US administration, according to the interlocutors of the publication, does not want to supply Ukraine with ATACMS missiles, fearing the depletion of its own reserves. Representatives of the White House told members of the Senate and the House of Representatives that the supply of missiles to Ukraine could undermine the "combat readiness of the US military."
