The media reported that the United States had no plans to transfer ATACMS missiles to Ukraine

The US authorities do not plan to transfer long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, at least in the near future, writes The Washington Post, citing unnamed US officials.

The administration of US President Joe Biden, according to the publication, continues to adhere to the refusal to send such weapons to Ukraine, despite “growing pressure from American lawmakers” and Kyiv.

According to representatives of the presidential administration and the Pentagon, there have been no serious discussions on the supply of long-range missiles to Kyiv for several months, and Washington’s position on this issue remains unchanged.

ATACMS weighs about 2 tons, the cost of one guided missile is about $ 1.5 million. Their firing range reaches 300 km, such missiles can be launched using the HIMARS MLRS, which the Armed Forces already have. These missiles were developed in the 1980s and were used during the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

The problem, as WP notes, is the relatively small number of such missiles in the Pentagon’s warehouses. Lockheed Martin has produced about 4,000 copies for all the time, many of which have already been used by the US Army in combat, as well as within the framework of exercises and tests. In addition, about 900 missiles were sold to the allies, including 211 after the start of the special operation in Ukraine.

July 12 National Security Adviser to the US President Jake Sullivan declaredthat Biden will discuss with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky the possibility of supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles. Prior to this, The New York Times, citing sources, reported that the Biden administration was holding a “quiet” debate on the possibility of supplying ATACMS missiles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Currently, long-range missiles are officially supplied to Ukraine by two countries – Great Britain and France. We are talking about Storm Shadow missiles and their counterpart SCALP-EG, both air-launched.

One Storm Shadow missile was able to be picked up after interception by Russian fighters in the special operation zone, about which told Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Tsarskie Wolves military-technical center and ex-head of Roskosmos, on July 6. The missile was eventually handed over to one of the Russian defense enterprises for further study, which caused concern in the NATO countries.