Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba stated that more Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) will be supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It's been just a few days since Ukrainian forces used this guided missile for the first time, destroying at least nine russian helicopters at air bases in Berdiansk and Luhansk.
When asked at "1+1" TV channel's morning program whether this successful strike means that Ukraine will get ATACMS "on a constant basis and in even larger numbers," the minister said: "It does. This is the direct result of the agreement of President Zelenskyi and President Biden in Washington, at their personal meeting in late September."
Read more: How Many russian Helicopters Were Destroyed in Luhansk (Satellite Images)
The Ukrainian minister refers to the visit of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi to the United States on September 21st. After talks with US President Joe Biden, Zelenskyi announced "very significant results."
"If we 'read between the lines' of the President's speech after his meeting with Biden, we could figure out that some important decision had been made. There was only one important decision at that point that could be made," minister Kuleba added.
For a reminder, the range of the M39 missile, known as ATACMS Block I, is up to 165 km. The fragments of a missile of this type, produced in 1996, were found at the ruins of russian air base in Berdiansk. Later the White House confirmed Ukraine received this version of the missile.
Commenting on why this variant of ATACMS was provided and whether Ukraine can expect versions with a max range of 300 km, the official said the progress on that matter takes time:
"Range, details, years [of production] – all of that will develop as we go. The most important is that we unlocked this item, and now we have all the types of weapons we wanted at our disposal. Now it will be only about expanding the quantity, range, modification and everything else," Kuleba explained.
Earlier Defense Express reported citing The New York Times that Ukraine received about 20 ATACMS in the first batch from the US.
Here's also an interesting suggestion by Long War Journal that supply of ATACMS (of course, in consistent, sufficient batches) may have an interesting side effect: it can "free up" Ukraine's own Neptun missiles for other targets, such as the Crimean Bridge.
Read more: It Became Known How Many ATACMS Missiles the USA Had Given to Ukraine
