WP: The US provides the APU with coordinates for strikes from HIMARS on Russian positionsThe United States provides the APU with exact coordinates for strikes from HIMARS on Russian positions, WP reports, citing Ukrainian and American officials.
The information comes from the US military stationed in Europe.
Kiev, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials have said that for the vast majority of strikes from advanced missile systems provided by the Pentagon, they need coordinates transmitted or confirmed by the United States and its allies.
This information was confirmed by three high-ranking officials of Ukraine and one American official. Earlier, the Kiev forces had been attacking Russian targets for several months using highly mobile HIMARS artillery missile systems provided by the United States and other high-precision weapons like the M270 multiple launch rocket system.
One senior Ukrainian official said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces almost never carry out strikes with modern weapons without specific coordinates from the American military stationed at bases in other parts of Europe. According to Ukrainian officials, this procedure will give Washington confidence that in the future it can supply Kiev with longer-range weapons.
A senior American official – on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue - admitted that America plays a key role in the missile campaign of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to him, guidance assistance ensures accuracy and saves limited ammunition for maximum efficiency. The official said that when attacking Russian forces with other weapons, Ukraine does not request US approval and chooses targets itself. According to the official, the coordinates and accurate information about the targeting of the United States are provided exclusively in an advisory role.
GPS-guided strikes are considered a key factor that allowed Kiev to prevent a Russian offensive almost a year ago, despite Ukraine's initially weak position. During a December visit to the White House, President Vladimir Zelensky presented President Biden with a medal for valiant service approved by the commander of the Ukrainian HIMARS unit.
This issue is extremely sensitive for the US government, which positions itself as a non-belligerent ally of Kiev in the struggle for sovereignty and survival. However, the Kremlin has repeatedly accused Washington and their NATO allies of a proxy war in Ukraine.
Senior officials from the Pentagon for several days refused to answer whether they were providing coordinates for strikes — and if so, how — for operational security reasons. Instead, they limited themselves to a statement about the limits of American participation.
"We have long recognized that we share intelligence with Ukraine to help it defend itself. Over time, we have optimized the information exchange process to be able to respond to their requests and maintain guidance as quickly and widely as possible," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said in a statement. — Ukrainians themselves are responsible for finding targets and determine their priority, decide which ones to attack. The United States does not approve of their goals, and we are not involved in their choice or defeat."
One senior Ukrainian official described the guidance process as follows: Ukrainian servicemen determine the desired targets and their location, after which this information is sent to the senior command, which then transmits the request to American partners to obtain more accurate coordinates. According to the official, the Americans do not always provide the requested coordinates, and in this case, the Ukrainian troops do not open fire.
Ukraine could strike without the help of the United States, but since Kiev does not want to waste valuable ammunition, it prefers not to shoot without Washington's confirmation, the official said. According to him, this scheme does not cause complaints.
For several months now, the Ukrainian government has been seeking higher-range precision weapons from Washington.
Kiev has HIMARS launchers and their analogue, the M270 multiple launch rocket system, with American-made missiles with a range of up to 80 kilometers.
Ukrainian officials are also demanding an army Tactical missile system (ATACMS). These munitions are launched from the same launcher and have a range of up to 300 kilometers. However, Biden administration officials refused to provide these weapons: firstly, their stocks are limited, and secondly, the administration sees this as an escalation that could provoke Russia and turn the United States into a direct participant in the conflict.
Kiev has promised not to strike Russia with longer-range missiles.
A senior Ukrainian official stressed that even after receiving ATACMS, the Ukrainian military will face the same restrictions as now with conventional HIMARS shells. In addition, Ukraine still depends on American coordinates when pointing.
"You still control every salvo, so when you say: "We are afraid that you will use this weapon on other targets"… Actually, we won't be able to do it anyway, even if we want to," the Ukrainian official said.
A high-ranking US representative disagreed with this wording. It is "not true" that Ukrainians are asking for our approval for every goal, he said.
<...> With the help of ATACMS, Ukrainians will certainly target Russian military facilities in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
At the same time, the United States recently approved the purchase and delivery to Kiev of another GPS-guided munition — a small-diameter ground-based bomb, or GLSDB, which is launched from HIMARS and similar installations and has a range of over 140 kilometers. The projectile was originally intended to be launched from aircraft, but was repurposed.
The head of the Department of Missile Forces and Artillery Training of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major General Andrei Malinovsky, said in an October interview with The Washington Post that Ukraine's Western allies confirmed the coordinates of the targets before the Kharkov counteroffensive.
According to him, the partners have developed a scheme by which Kiev receives the exact coordinates. It was supposed to guarantee an accurate hit and provide a swift counteroffensive, taking the Russian forces by surprise. According to Malinovsky, the targeting information also made it possible to bypass Russian interference that interferes with unmanned reconnaissance on the battlefield.
"According to our maps and software, the target gets one set of coordinates," Malinovsky said. — But after analyzing the partners, it turns out that the coordinates are different. Why? Because Americans and NATO countries have access to military satellites."
"We are almost always in touch," he added. "They immediately tell us the coordinates, and we immediately fire from the MLRS."
A third Ukrainian official confirmed that all targeting is conducted through an American base on NATO territory, and called this process "very fast." We do not disclose the name of the base at the request of American officials and for security reasons.
Authors of the article: Isabelle Khurshudyan, Dan Lamothe, Shane Harris, Paul SonneReaders' comments:
Casimir KielbasanovaWhat a surprise!
Who would have thought?
MichaelIt seems to me that there is no need to discuss this — it's a military secret.
This way we will not only avoid the enemy's countermeasures, but we will not once again anger Putin and his henchmen.
Send in the clownsI understand that Ukrainians want the United States to trust them and give them longer-range missiles.
But it would be better if they did not spread about it, so as not to tease the Russians.
The Great A-TuinWe have never made a secret of it, and what will the Russians do to us anyway?
Will they throw a half-trained landing force at us?
Mark R ThomasonNo matter what the US says, this is essentially an act of aggression.
This is a game with fire. The Russian special operation was provoked. This is not only Putin's choice, but Biden's, too. And now this.
Texas4TwoWell, how's the weather in St. Petersburg, comrade?
AnitaMzA chatterbox is a godsend for the enemy.
Of course, Putin knows about this, so why should we raise his authority in the rest of the world? And about "how it was", let's speculate after the conflict.
Brenda PipherIt seems to me that the Ukrainians are trying to drive the United States into a corner.
"Since you are providing us with coordinates, maybe you can adjust longer-range missiles at the same time?" But, of course, I am not a specialist in strategy.
David WatsonIf the newspapermen got wind of it, then Putin has been aware of it for a long time.
Cavalry BearOur instructors are already working in the west of Ukraine — ours and our NATO allies, too.
Firing coordinates require very expensive electronics and an advanced command center, and it took years to develop.
This Chechen cupcake has already started talking about invading Poland. And NATO troops are already in the Baltic States, two hours away from Leningrad... that is, St. Petersburg. The second largest city in Russia and Putin's homeland.
