Ukraine launches first ATACMS strike against Russian troops – WSJ
The Wall Street Journal claims that Ukraine launched long-range ATACMS missiles at Russian forces on Tuesday, October 17, and that the missiles were secretly transferred to the United States. The media outlet cites its own sources.
This is the first time that this weapon has been used in the Russian-Ukrainian war, the media reports.
“A small number of missiles have been secretly shipped to Ukraine in recent days, where they will bolster Kyiv’s ability to launch long-range strikes against Russian forces during a crucial phase of their counteroffensive,” the WSJ says, citing sources familiar with the matter.
No official word on the delivery of ATACMS has been announced.
The provided ATACMS models have a range of about 100 miles (~160.9 km), according to the media.
The US decision to send ATACMS has been in the works for a long time, the publication notes.
Ukraine has repeatedly said that the missiles are essential to its military plan, giving it the range it needs to hit targets behind the front lines in Russian-occupied territory, the WSJ reports.
ATACMS is an American tactical ballistic missile system. M142 HIMARS, M270 MLRS and MARS II launchers are designed to launch missiles. Different modifications of ATACMS have a distance of 165 to 310 km. So far, Ukraine has received HIMARS shells that hit at 70-80 kilometers. The Ukrainian Armed Forces use HIMARS to strike warehouses, headquarters, and other targets in the Russian rear.
- The Special Operations Forces reported that the Dragonfly operation on the night of October 17 destroyed nine helicopters, an air defense unit, an arsenal, and “dozens” of Russians in the temporarily occupied Berdiansk and Luhansk.
- Russian military propagandists spread photos allegedly from the airfield in Berdiansk after the attack: they show submunitions similar to M74s carried by an American ATACMS missile.
- On September 23, the Washington Post and the Financial Times reported that Ukraine would receive ATACMS missiles with cluster warheads from the United States.
