- Sputnik International, 1920, 25.02.2022
Russia's Special Operation in Ukraine
On February 24, 2022 Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev's forces.

Biden Authorizes Ukrainian Long-Range Strikes Into Russia Using ATACMS Missiles - Reports

© Wikipedia / Public DomainATACMS Army Tactical Missile System
ATACMS Army Tactical Missile System - Sputnik International, 1920, 17.11.2024
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The US and its allies spent months debating whether or not to give Ukraine the go-ahead to use its NATO-provided long-range strike systems to target Russia. In September, President Putin warned that allowing Kiev to use its Western long-range missiles on Russia would mean NATO's direct participation in a war against the Russian Federation.
President Biden has signed off on the Ukrainian military's use of US-made ATACMS missiles to try to help defend its faltering positions in Ukrainian-occupied areas of Russia's Kursk region, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing US officials apprized of the situation.
Officials told the newspaper that they "do not expect the shift" in policy "to fundamentally alter the course of the war" (NYT's phrasing), and indicated that Biden could further authorize Kiev to use the weapons in directions besides Kursk in the future.
Washington reportedly expects the ATACMS to be used to strike troop concentrations, military equipment, logistics, ammunition depots and supply lines, all with the goal of "blunt[ing] the effectiveness" of the ongoing Russian military operation to clear Kursk of Ukrainian forces.
According to NYT's information, some Pentagon officials opposed delivering the missile systems to Ukraine in the first place due to the US Army's limited supply. Others reportedly expressed fears that their delivery and use could escalate the conflict and even prompt direct Russian retaliation against US and NATO forces - something President Putin has explicitly warned about.
The ATACMS go-ahead also appears to be connected to to the increasingly dire situation for Ukrainian forces across the front, with US officials said to have become "increasingly concerned" about the Ukrainian army being "stretched thin by simultaneous Russian assaults in the east, Kharkov and now Kursk."
President-elect Trump's statements about seeking to quickly end the conflict have also reportedly weighed in the outgoing administration's decision, NYT said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the plenary session of the 2024 Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) - Sputnik International, 1920, 12.09.2024
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Putin: NATO's Approval of Use of Long-Range Missiles by Ukraine Will Mean It is at War With Russia

What Are ATACMS?

The Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is a solid-fuel, surface-to-surface ballistic missile with an effective firing range of up to 300 km, and a maximum velocity during boost phase of up to Mach 3, or 1 km/second.

The weapon's ordinance varies wildly depending on model and block number, and can include 500 pound (230 kg) penetrating high-explosive blast fragmentation warheads, or other explosives weighing between 160 and 560 kg, including anti-personnel and materiel cluster 'bomblets'. ATACMS also vary in terms of the guidance systems they carry, which can include inertial guidance and/or built-in GPS.
An unspecified number of ATACMS were 'quietly' shipped to Ukraine in the spring of 2024, with the US restricting their use to the local battlespace, and the Russian military regularly reporting on the downing scores of the weapons in fighting over the summer.
President Putin's September warning about the implications of NATO countries freeing Kiev's hand to use long-range missiles to target areas deep inside Russia seemed to have influenced alliance plans to do so, with the bloc publicly backpeddling on its plans later that month.
In this image provided by the U.S. Army, soldiers, from the 3rd Battalion, 321st Field Artillery Regiment of the 18th Field Artillery Brigade out of Fort Bragg N.C., conduct live fire testing at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., on Dec. 14, 2021, of early versions of the Army Tactical Missile System.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 09.11.2024
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