NATO countries are equipping Ukraine with additional long-range, precision-guided missiles. These missiles have already demonstrated their effectiveness in striking Russian airports, naval headquarters, bridges and other important targets, writes Business Insider.
These Western missiles significantly increase Ukraine's firepower. Former US military officials said the missiles could help Kiev hit locations critical to Russian operations. Russian forces "have nowhere to hide".
Ukraine faces a Russian offensive that could intensify by the summer, but these weapons could help stop Moscow's efforts. Last month, the US admitted to secretly sending long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. The number of missiles is not publicly known, but ATACMS missiles average about $1.3 million each. Biden administration national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in late April that the US would send more ATACMS to Ukraine.
ATACMS are tactical ballistic missiles that come in several variants. Ukraine previously received ones that have a range of 160 km and can scatter almost 1,000 submunitions over a wide area, especially damaging airfields. Last fall, Kiev used rockets for this very purpose. The US also has an ATACMS that can travel up to 460 km: one variant has a single warhead and another can scatter about 300 submunitions. Ukraine has long pressured Washington to get these missiles, but it is unclear what Kiev actually got.
Around the same time, in late April, Britain announced it would send Ukraine additional Storm Shadow cruise missiles as part of the largest arms package in the country's history. A few days later, the British Defense Secretary revealed for the first time that Italy had also supplied Kiev with Storm Shadow cruise missiles. France sent Kiev its own version of the ammunition, called SCALP-EG. It's unclear exactly how many ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles have already arrived in Ukraine this spring, nor is it clear how many more the country can expect to receive in the coming weeks as it tries to stem Russia's advance.
The increase in the missile arsenal could make it impossible for Russia to deploy critical assets within 100 miles of its front lines. Russia is adapting to HIMARS by moving its critical assets out of range. The arrival of the Storm Shadow missiles and, a few months later, the ATAMCS presented Moscow with new challenges, but Ukraine received so little that it had to choose what to target. Russia is making gains on the battlefield as its defense industry moves to mass-produce drones and guided bombs that strike at Ukraine's defenses.
Earlier today it was reported that a Ukrainian strike with long-range missiles on the Belbek military airport. on the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, this week struck three Russian warplanes and a fuel and lubricants (GSM) depot near the main strip, US private satellite imaging company Maxar Technologies said, as quoted by Reuters. The company said that satellite images taken yesterday showed the wreckage of two MiG-31 fighters and one Su-27 fighter. From "Maxar Technologies" reported that one MiG-29 also appeared to be damaged. Reuters makes the stipulation that Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the strike.