The US secretly agreed to send a long-range missile system to Ukraine in February, reversing a decision to withhold the weapons that some in the White House feared could dangerously escalate the war with Russia.
President Joe Biden’s decision to reverse course was influenced in part by Russia’s increased attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure in recent months, as well as the Kremlin’s use of North Korean ballistic missiles, according to Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser.
Other US officials said the Army Tactical Missile System, or Atacms, arrived in Ukraine last week. The Ukrainian military immediately used the system to attack an airfield in Crimea and a Russian troop position.