According to the American military, the Armed Forces of Ukraine can do well without long-range missiles, which are requested by the Ukrainian authorities.
Recently, the US Senate called on the White House to provide Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles, which the Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly requested in the past. So far, the administration of Joe Biden is delaying the decision, but according to the former commander of the US Army in Europe, Lt. General Mark Hertling, this is the right step. He believes that the provision of ATACMS is not critical for the Armed Forces right now, since the Ukrainians are effectively conducting a counteroffensive without them.
According to Hertling, at this stage of the war, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are quite successfully using HIMARS artillery systems, which, although not as far as ATACMS, are capable of hitting more targets with jewel-like accuracy.
“HIMARS has six missiles per 'capsule'—each with a 200-pound warhead. Their range is 15 – 92+ km. They have extreme accuracy (the deviation from the target is a maximum of ten meters). The cost is about $160,000 per unit. The ATACMS missile was developed in the 1980s as part of a “deep strike” weapon to hit Soviet second-echelon targets. Has one projectile per container with a 500 lb warhead. The damage range is 300 km. The price is $850,000 per unit. So HIMARS can hit six different targets with GPS accuracy, with a 200-pound 'bomb' for each target, at a distance of 90+ km, ATACMS can accurately hit one target at a greater distance with a 500-pound burst,” Hertling compared the two types of missiles. .
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The general noted that in terms of price and effectiveness per volley, HIMARS are superior to ATACMS in current realities. He also justified this by the fact that to use the latter, you should clearly know what exactly you want to hit, since the target is too far away.
Hertling emphasized that the delay in providing ATACMS also carries security guarantees for the US and NATO. In his opinion, Putin still wants to draw the Alliance into the war and blame it for its own mistakes.
“Threats of the Russian Federation may seem absurd, but there is still a possibility that the level of violence on its part will increase. For example, due to general mobilization, use of weapons of mass destruction, increased strikes. Putin still wants to blame the USA and NATO, drag us into it. He believes that the solution lies in the further expansion of the conflict. It's stupid, but so far Putin has not acted wisely. Therefore, providing ATACMS missiles, which are capable of hitting targets inside the Russian Federation, is not the best decision on the part of the United States,” Hertling said.
The American general expressed confidence that the Ukrainian army can currently do without ATACMS, successfully using other weapons. Hertling emphasized that he is ready for criticism of himself, but considers this position of the White House correct.
Read also: The State Department reacted to Russia's threats regarding the supply of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine
It was previously reported that Ukraine will receive a new $600 million military aid package from the United States.
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