Ukraine has already exhausted its limited stockpile of long-range ATACMS missiles, the AP reported, citing an unnamed American official and a Ukrainian lawmaker from the defense committee.
The US official stated that the United States supplied Ukraine with fewer than 40 ATACMS missiles overall, all of which had been used by January.
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As per the Associated Press, the US Department of Defense leadership, including former Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, made it clear that the supply of these missiles would be limited, as the US and its NATO allies consider other types of weaponry “more valuable in the fight.”
Depending on the modification, American ATACMS missiles have a range of 140-300 kilometers (87-186 miles).
At the end of December, The New York Times, citing US officials, reported that the Biden administration “shipped Ukraine as many as 500 missiles from Pentagon stockpiles.”
It further reported that Ukraine was reducing its use of ATACMS missiles for strikes on Russia due to their depletion, as well as concerns over a potential shift in policy by newly elected US President Donald Trump regarding permission for such attacks.
Initially, ATACMS were used exclusively for strikes on Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, including the Crimean Peninsula.
However, under the Biden administration, Ukraine was granted permission in mid-November to use ATACMS for strikes on military targets deeper into Russian territory.
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