Zelensky confirmed Ukraine's first use of American ATACMS missiles
Kiev has received long-range ATACMS missiles from Washington, Vladimir Zelensky confirmed. They have already been used for strikes on airfields in Berdyansk and Lugansk. According to American media, the missiles are equipped with a cluster warhead, and the secret deliveries were supposed to "catch the Russians by surprise." Washington refused to transfer these missiles to Ukraine for about a year, fearing an escalation of the conflict. Details are in the material of "Gazeta.Ru».
Ukraine on Tuesday, October 17, for the first time used American long-range ATACMS missiles against Russian forces, the Wall Street Journal newspaper reported. According to the newspaper, a "small number" of missiles with a range of up to 160 km were secretly delivered to Kiev in recent days.
According to the WSJ, the missiles were used in the attack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russian airfields near Berdyansk and Lugansk. The information was also confirmed by Politico.
According to The New York Times, the version of the missile transferred to Kiev is equipped with cluster munitions - they are prohibited by the convention of 2008, but neither the United States, nor Ukraine and Russia are parties to it. Before that, Washington had already announced the supply of such shells to Kiev.
Ukraine and Russia confirmed
Verkhovna Rada deputy Oleksiy Goncharenko also announced in his Telegram channel that Ukraine had received ATACMS. He wrote that the Berdyansk airfield "was struck by them."
The President of the country, Vladimir Zelensky, confirmed this information in an evening address.
Ukraine's use of long-range missiles was also announced in the Russian Federation. The chairman of the movement "We are together with Russia" of the Zaporozhye region, Vladimir Rogov, published photos of shells found at the site of the shelling of the Berdyansk airfield. According to him, "M74 cluster submunitions of the American ATACMS tactical missile were found there."
The ex-head of Roscosmos, a member of the Federation Council from the Zaporozhye region Dmitry Rogozin confirmed that the images captured the striking element of ATACMS. He stated that each missile carries a cluster warhead, "which is packed with 275 M74 combat elements."
"Tonight, the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit the suburb of Zaporizhia Berdyansk, for the first time using a long-range ballistic missile of the ATACMS operational and tactical complex," he concluded.
Take you by surprise
CNN, citing sources from among American officials, reported that the missile deliveries were secret, as Washington wanted to "catch the Russians by surprise."
As CNN notes, the United States has previously carried out secret deliveries: in August 2022, the Pentagon admitted that it had sent HARM high-speed anti-radar missiles to Ukraine without warning.
The US Department of Defense did not comment on the secret transfer of ATACMS, having forwarded all questions about it to the Ukrainian relevant department. In recent weeks, when asked about the potential transfer of shells to Kiev, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin replied that Washington "has nothing to announce" - according to CNN sources, such wording was "a conscious choice of words."
At the end of September this year, the American channel NBC, citing sources, reported that Washington and Kiev "behind the scenes" agreed to supply a "small" batch of ATACMS during Vladimir Zelensky's visit to the United States. The New Yorker magazine in October also wrote about reaching an agreement on the transfer of missiles.
At the same time, there were no official announcements about deliveries. Ukraine has been asking for ATACMS from the United States for almost a year, but the White House feared that the transfer of these missiles would lead to an escalation of the conflict.
Semyon Sleepy
