• Ukraine has begun using longer-range ballistic missiles against Russia, which the US secretly supplied.
• President Joe Biden signed off on a new package of economic and military support for Ukraine worth $61 billion.
• Russia stated that the new weaponry “will not fundamentally change the outcome” of the war.

American officials have confirmed that Ukraine has begun employing longer-range ballistic missiles against Russia, which we secretly supplied. These weapons, part of a previous US support package, arrived this month. Officials clarified that they were not publicly announced to maintain Ukraine’s “operational security.” The missiles have already been utilized at least once to target Russian installations in occupied Crimea.

The US is providing further aid to Kyiv, with more American weaponry expected to be sent imminently. President Joe Biden signed off on Wednesday on a new package of economic and military support for Ukraine worth $61 billion (£49 billion). On Wednesday, a State Department spokesman confirmed that the missiles quietly provided are the longer-range version of the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS).

Previously, the US supplied Ukraine with a mid-range version of the ATACMS but had resisted sending anything more powerful, partly due to concerns about compromising US military readiness. Officials also expressed concerns that the Ukrainians could use the weaponry to strike inside Russian territory, potentially escalating the conflict, according to NBC, which first reported the news. The Ukrainians have long advocated for the systems, which can fire missiles up to 300km (186 miles). Mr. Biden is said to have secretly given the green light in February.

Briefing reporters on Wednesday, the State Department spokesman confirmed that the provision of the longer-range ATACMS had been “directly directed by the president.”

The US “did not announce this at the onset to maintain operational security for Ukraine at their request”, Vedant Patel explained.

The number of weapons already sent is unclear, but US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that Washington planned to send more.

“They will make a difference. But as I’ve said before at this podium… there is no silver bullet,” he said.

US media reported that the longer-range ATACMS provide Ukraine with the ability to strike deeper into Russian-held areas, particularly targeting bases, storage facilities, and logistics hubs. The missiles were reportedly used for the first time last week to strike a Russian airfield in occupied Crimea and then in an attack on Russian troops in the occupied port city of Berdyansk overnight on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Russia stated that the new weaponry “will not fundamentally change the outcome” of the war.

Recent months have seen Kyiv step up its calls for Western assistance as its stocks of ammunition are depleted and Russia makes steady gains.

Following months of gridlock amid opposition to the aid from some in Congress, Mr. Biden rubber-stamped the new aid package on Wednesday. The first of many expected billion-dollar weapons packages is anticipated from the $61 billion of fresh aid, not all of which will be allocated for arms. The total US security assistance previously sent to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion amounts to $44 billion.

“It’s going to make America safer, it’s going to make the world safer,” the US president said after signing the new aid into law.

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