Moscow responds by declaring it has no choice but to ‘expand the buffer zone’ by pushing further into Ukraine.

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The United States has been covertly supplying Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles for weeks now, which Kyiv has already used twice to strike at Russian targets deep behind the front lines. A U.S. official confirmed—under the condition of anonymity—this military escalation in a Reuters report dated Wednesday, April 24th.

The Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS, with a range of 300 km) in question were part of the $300 million military aid package approved by President Biden on March 12th, the official said, while refusing to elaborate on the number of missiles involved. However, the more recent, $1 billion weapons package approved this week, he said, contains additional long-range missiles for Ukraine.

“We’ve already sent some, we will send more now that we have additional authority and money,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed in a press conference on Wednesday, referring to the new military aid package.

Mid-range ATACMS (with a range of up to 165 km) were already given to Ukraine last September, prompting Russia to warn against sending the longer-range version of the weapon systems. At the time, this was opposed by the Pentagon too, both in fear of escalation and to protect U.S. war-readiness by preserving its arms stockpile.

In late January, however, Washington struck a deal with Lockheed Martin for new missiles, solving at least one of the concerns. From here, the decision to start supplying Kyiv with the missiles was taken, officially in response to Russia’s persistent targeting of critical Ukrainian infrastructure. Since March, Ukraine has used the long-range ATACMS twice already: first on April 17th, striking a Crimean airfield, then again earlier this week against Russian forces in southeastern Ukraine.

ATACMS has an effective range of up to 310 km, enough to penetrate deep into Russia proper or strike crucial infrastructure, such as the Kerch bridge, connecting Russia to occupied Crimea. According to the unnamed official, Kyiv received the weapons on the condition that it wouldn’t use them against targets inside Russian territory.

While President Zelensky and many in the West are celebrating the delivery, there are also concerns that the U.S. decision would spark another wave of escalation—and not just between Russia and Ukraine.

Even last fall, when only mid-range cruise missiles were given to Ukraine, Moscow reacted by saying that the deployment of such weapon systems was a “grave mistake,” and that the U.S. was pushing for a “direct clash between NATO and Russia.”

Now, with Ukraine confirmed to be in possession of long-range ATACMS and the U.S. planning to keep supplying it with more, Moscow says it has no other option but to push further into Ukraine to create and expand a “buffer zone” meant to protect Russian territories, including the four annexed Ukrainian oblasts.

Russian officials also slammed U.S. assurances that Kyiv promised not to use the weapons for striking targets in Russia proper as “particularly cynical.” “Who should be reassured by such lies?” Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov said, commenting on the news on Telegram.

Original article: The European Conservative