The Biden administration has no plans to follow Britain’s lead in sending long-range missiles to Ukraine — with some officials saying the U.S. is now off the hook thanks to the U.K.’s planned delivery, Politico reports.
London is set to send missiles with a range of 300 km, or nearly 200 miles, That’s the same range as the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, that Washington has refused to transfer to Kyiv. U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly declined to comment on the timing and scale of future commitments during a Tuesday news conference alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
But the possibility of British missiles heading to Ukraine has President Joe Biden’s team breathing a quiet sigh of relief, according to multiple U.S. officials who spoke to NatSec Daily. They hope it will silence critics who want the U.S. to send ATACMS since Ukraine may soon get the long-range capability from London.
NatSec Daily asked the U.S. officials if the administration might follow Britain’s lead in sending long-range missiles. One official, who like others wasn’t authorized to detail internal deliberations, said “our policy on ATACMS has not changed.” Instead, the official said the U.S. will continue to provide air-defense capabilities like Patriots, ammunition and armored vehicles.
There’s also the matter of the U.S. not having enough ATACMS in the arsenal to spare. “From a military standpoint, we have relatively few ATACMS, we do have to make sure that we maintain our own munitions inventories, as well,” Gen. Mark Milley, the Joint Chiefs chair, told Defense One in March.
Another person familiar with the discussions said Britain has told Ukraine the condition for providing long-range missiles is a commitment by Ukraine to use the capability only on targets inside of Ukrainian territory.
That mirrors the same concern the administration has about giving ATACMS to Ukraine. The last thing the White House wants is Ukrainian troops using them to strike deep into Russia.
