Britain sent long-range “Storm Shadow” cruise missiles to Ukraine in May. And France promised a shipment of the same missiles, which it calls SCALPs, as NATO leaders met in Lithuania on Tuesday.
But for now, the United States is still hesitant to send Ukraine one of its limited supply of long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems — known as ATACMS, or “attack ems” — even though the Biden administration recognizes that Kiev’s armed forces are dangerously short on other ammunition in its counter-offensive against Russia.
Ukraine has long coveted the ATACMS, which have a range of about 190 miles, or about 40 miles more than the missiles supplied by France and Britain.
The Pentagon has maintained that Ukraine currently does not need ATACMS, which could reach behind enemy lines, including into Russia and occupied Crimea.
But two US officials and a European official described a quiet debate within the Biden administration over whether or not to send some of the ground-to-ground guided missiles, which are reserved for other security threats. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal administrative debate.
Like the United States, France had previously ruled out supplying Ukraine with longer-range missiles, citing concerns that they could be used to strike targets in Russia, escalating the conflict. But President Emmanuel Macron said he was now sending the SCALP missiles to help Ukraine defend itself.
“In light of the situation and the counter-offensive being waged by Ukraine, I have decided to increase the supply of arms and equipment and provide the Ukrainians with deep strike capabilities,” Macron said upon arrival in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, on Tuesday. for the annual NATO summit.
The counter-offensive is progressing slowly as the Ukrainians face off against Russian forces who have had months to build up defensive positions.
The United States has abandoned its reluctance to supply advanced weapons to Ukraine, which was partly based on government fears that the conflict would worsen. The government backtracked on several weapons systems, eventually agreeing to send Patriot air defenses, Abrams tanks, and cluster munitions.
President Biden made the decision on cluster munitions last week. He defended his decision on Friday to provide the ammunition, which has been banned by many of America’s closest allies, saying it was a hard choice but that “the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition.”
Other military aid pledged to Ukraine at the NATO meeting included 25 additional Leopard tanks, 40 additional infantry fighting vehicles and two more Patriot air defense missile launchers in a $770 million package from Germany, and $240 million from Norway for unspecified equipment and other support.
In addition, the defense ministers of Denmark and the Netherlands announced that they had gathered 11 countries to help start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets and that they will establish a school in Romania to do so.
The ATACMS are among the last major weapon systems Kiev wants and the United States is hesitant to give them.
US defense officials have warned that their arsenal of ATACMS is relatively small and that the missiles have been deployed for other Pentagon war plans, including on the Korean Peninsula. Only about 4,000 ATACMS have been produced since the missile was developed in the 1980s, a Lockheed Martin spokeswoman said Tuesday.
Giving them to Ukraine could jeopardize preparedness in the other hotspots.
Shortly after Ukraine launched its counteroffensive last month, House Republicans formally called on the Biden administration to “immediately” send ATACMS to Ukraine, noting that other allies have already donated their own long-range missiles.
France’s announcement on Tuesday could fuel or ease the pressure campaign as Ukraine receives long-range missiles from other countries.
“The military rationale for doing this is illustrated to some extent by what’s going on right now regarding the counteroffensive,” said Franklin D. Kramer, a former assistant secretary of defense for international affairs.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told journalists on Tuesday that he was “absolutely sure that everything that is now impossible” will become possible.
He said he kept in touch with US officials through ATACMS, and with German officials, who are pressuring Kiev for Taurus missiles, which have a range of about 500 kilometers.
Mr. Reznikov made it clear that he would not stop asking for ATACMs or long-range missiles from any ally.
“We need more guns,” he said.
Eric Schmitt contributed reporting from Washington, Matthew Mpoke Bigg from London and Zolan Kanno-Youngs from Vilnius.
