The US Intelligence Community and the Pentagon have recommended the country’s authorities not to lift restrictions on the use of US long-range ATACMS missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an interview with Fox News.
US experts concluded that such a move would not change the course of the conflict in Ukraine’s favour, as Russia has already moved most vulnerable targets beyond the reach of ATACMS missiles. In addition, sending a significant number of these missiles to Ukraine could have a negative impact on the security of the US, the TV channel’s interlocutor said.
Austin said in the interview that Washington is wary of lifting restrictions on the use of ATACMS because of the risk of escalating relations with nuclear-armed Russia.
Austin also expressed confidence that Ukraine is capable of making high range drones on its own and using them against Russia.
Earlier, The New York Times, citing representatives of the Ministry of Defence, reported that the Pentagon acknowledged the impossibility of large-scale deliveries of some weapons to the AFU, including long-range ATACMS missiles, due to the threat of reducing the defence capability of the US itself.
The lack of ATACMS missiles was one of the reasons why US leader Joe Biden did not grant Ukraine permission to launch strikes with long-range weapons deep inside Russia.
