“They’re coming”. On ABC News, an American official announced that long-range ATACMS missiles would be sent to Ukraine on September 11, 2023. A month later, the Wall Street Journal announced its first use. From now on, they can be fired deep into Russian territory. revealed New-York Times this Sunday. This information was confirmed shortly afterwards by an American official to AFP.

The White House has lifted its veto in response to the deployment of 10,000 troops. North Korean soldiers by Russia. An escalation in the conflict, necessitated by high casualties on both sides.

ATACAMS ground-to-ground semi-ballistic missiles, for “Army Tactical Missile System (have a range of over 300 kilometers for the latest versions. They entered service in 1991 during the first Gulf War, where they proved their effectiveness. More than 450 were fired during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. However, production ceased in 2007, and a new generation, the Precision Strike Missile, should replace it. The war in Ukraine, and especially the invasion of February 24, 2022, has brought them back into the spotlight. They can be launched from another symbolic weapon of this conflict: the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher.

At the time, the United States did not want to supply Ukraine with this type of ammunition, fearing that Vladimir Putin would see it as escalation or cobelligerence. All the more so since, back in June, the master of the Kremlin assured us that authorization of strikes on Russian territory would mean that “NATO countries are at war with Russia”.. But Moscow, by dragging North Korea into the war, has crossed a line. Authorizing these strikes should have a rapid effect. “When the Americans authorized Ukraine to fire 80 kilometers into Russia in response to the Kharkiv attack (last May, editor’s note), the Kremlin’s offensive stopped immediately.” explained Xavier Tytelman, former shipboard personnel and commentator on the war in Ukraine, to Figaro.

However, the use of these weapons “undoubtedly requires Western operators”.said General (2S) Chauvancy. They would have to approach the front line, at the risk of being captured. “Russia would also be justified in accusing the West of cobelligerence if the target hit is a major one”.he continues. A situation that Ukraine’s allies do not wish to see.