2023-07-13 05:53:00
No ATACMS delivery? USA: Ukraine needs artillery instead of rockets
7/13/2023 7:53 am
Ukraine has asked the US for long-range missiles – but Washington is still hesitant. While other partners are far more willing to supply such weapons, President Joe Biden believes something else is more crucial: artillery ammunition. It is known to be scarce.
In Ukraine’s defensive fight against Russia, according to US President Joe Biden, longer-range missiles from the USA are currently not a priority. When asked by a reporter if he was considering providing ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, Biden said, “Yes, but they have the equivalent of ATACMS now. What we need most is artillery shells and they are in short supply. We are working on that .” Biden made the statement at the airport in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, before continuing on to Finland.
In Germany, for example, artillery shells for Ukraine are produced in a large Rheinmetall factory in the Lüneburg Heath. The plant is running at full speed – also because of the production of tank ammunition and because the depleting stocks of the NATO partners are to be replenished. The federal government recently announced that Ukraine will receive, among other things, 20,000 rounds of artillery ammunition in a new large arms package. However, these will probably not be enough for long: Various reports in recent months have stated that the armed forces are using 5,000 to 10,000 artillery shells a day.
ATACMS missiles could hit targets far behind the frontline Ukraine has long been demanding longer-range missiles from its western allies in the fight against the Russian invasion. A few days ago, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a CNN interview that these would help to make faster progress in the counteroffensive to liberate the areas occupied by Russia.
The Ukrainian armed forces already have British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles with a range of 550 kilometers. France also promised the attacked country cruise missiles during the NATO summit in Lithuania.
ATACMS-type missiles are fired from the ground against ground targets. Austrian Colonel Markus Reisner told ntv.de: “With this, the Ukrainians could reach logistics and command structures up to a distance of 300 kilometers, which would include the entire territory occupied by the Russians.”
So far, the Ukrainian armed forces have mainly used shorter-range US HIMARS missiles. “Last year, thanks to the delivery of the HIMARS system, Ukraine managed to hit Russian logistics at a distance of 70-80 kilometers, primarily ammunition stores, but also command structures. That didn’t have a decisive effect at the time, but the Russian still forced to reorganize itself,” says Reisner.
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