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   In article    
      
   US president Joe Biden has decided to supply Ukraine with long-range   
   army tactical missile systems (ATACMS), an important boost to Kyiv’s   
   capacity to target Russian military logistics at long range   
   distances as the country prepares for a second winter at war.   
      
   Biden told Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a private meeting   
   that a small number of the weapons would be transferred, NBC   
   reported, citing US officials.   
      
   Ukraine has been asking for ATACMS for months. Officials in the US   
   were reluctant as the country’s own stockpile is limited and because   
   of fears Russia could accuse Washington of escalation.   
      
   But Ukraine will commit not to target Russian territory with them   
   and a waiver allowing the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine   
   has expanded the number of potential missiles that could be used   
   there, the Wall Street Journal reported.   
      
   Fired from a mobile launcher, ATACMS can hit targets up to 190 miles   
   (300km) away, allowing Ukrainian forces to strike far beyond the   
   front lines. Potential targets include command headquarters, weapons   
   depots and supply networks, including railways.   
      
   Asked about reports that Biden had shifted his position, Zelenskiy   
   did not directly respond, saying only that the US was Ukraine’s   
   biggest weapons supplier, Reuters reported.“We are discussing all   
   the different types of weapons – long-range weapons and artillery,   
   shells with the calibre of 155mm, then air defence systems,”   
   Zelenskiy told a press conference during an official visit to   
   Canada.   
      
   Ukraine’s acquisition of the ATACMS is the latest in a long-running   
   and largely successful campaign to push western allies for more   
   advanced weaponry, which has been bolstered by Ukrainian military   
   successes on the ground.   
      
   When Russia invaded last year, guided anti-tank missiles were among   
   the most hi-tech equipment sent to Ukraine. It now has western   
   tanks, surface-to-air missile defence systems and pilots training to   
   take over a fleet of F-16 fighter jets.   
      
   Ukrainian forces are already familiar with the Himars mobile rocket   
   launchers used to fire ATACMS, as the US began transferring these   
   systems last year. However, it only supplied Ukraine with shorter-   
   range guided rockets.   
      
   The long-range missiles could be particularly important in winter,   
   when cold weather slows fighting along the frontlines and Russia may   
   try to shore up its defences in occupied Ukrainian territory.   
      
   Ukraine launched a counteroffensive this summer that progressed more   
   slowly than the country’s own military and its US allies had hoped.   
      
   Kyiv aimed to break through Russian lines, then drive down to the   
   Sea of Azov, isolating invading forces around Kherson and cutting   
   off supply routes to Crimea.   
      
   A dense mine belt stalled troops for weeks, however, after it proved   
   impenetrable even to armoured vehicles and tanks from the US and   
   European powers.   
      
   Eventually a path was cleared by sappers on foot, and last week, in   
   another key breakthrough, armoured vehicles breached Russia’s main   
   anti-tank defences in the same area.That could allow them to push   
   farther south more easily, or attack Russian forces along defensive   
   lines from the rear.   
      
   While the land offensive has advanced slowly, Ukraine has sought to   
   put pressure on Russian forces with long-distance drone and other   
   attacks, both inside Russia and on occupied Ukrainian soil,   
   particularly in Crimea.   
      
   Although there was no official announcement on ATACMS during   
   Zelenskiy’s whirlwind visit to Washington last week, he secured   
   $325m in new US aid and worked to reinforce support for his country   
   among politicians.While in Europe support for Ukraine’s war effort   
   is largely bipartisan, in the US there are splits along party   
   political lines, with a faction of congressional Republicans largely   
   aligned with the party’s presidential frontrunner Donald Trump   
   increasingly opposed to funding aid and weapons transfers.   
      
   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/23/us-agrees-to-send-   
   long-range-missiles-atacms-to-ukraine-in-military-boost-for-kyiv   
      
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