Ukraine used long-range ATACMS to strike Russian depot and aircraft

KYIV, Ukraine – Ukraine’s military fired a version of U.S.-provided ATACMS long-range missiles early Tuesday to strike Russian military aircraft and ammunition depots in occupied Ukraine, according to a senior Ukrainian military official, marking Kyiv’s first-known use of the munitions.

The military launched 18 missiles at targets in occupied Berdyansk and Luhansk, the official said.

“Today special thanks to the United States.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

“Our agreements with President Biden are being implemented,” Zelenskyy wrote. “They are executed very accurately – ‘ATACMS’ have proven themselves.”

Ukraine had pleaded for more than a year for Washington to send ATACMS, which can strike targets 100 miles or more away – farther than other weapons that the United States has sent to Kyiv.

The version used by Ukraine to hit targets in Berdyansk, on the Azov Sea coast, and in the occupied eastern Luhansk region, were armed with cluster bomblets rather than a single warhead.

A U.S. official familiar with the supplies said the missiles have a range of about 100 miles, midrange for the various types of ATACMS. This was the first Ukrainian use of the missile system, the official said.

The strikes demonstrate Ukraine’s new ability to hit key targets deep inside Russian-held territory, a capacity that could allow them to significantly damage Russian equipment and arsenals and kill or wound occupying Russian troops far from the front lines.

The new capability could create much-needed momentum as Ukraine continues its push to retake territory in a slow, grinding counteroffensive in the country’s south and east.

An adviser to Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak, declared on Tuesday that “a new chapter of this war has (un)officially begun.”

“There are no more safe places for Russian troops within the … internationally recognized borders of #Ukraine,” Podolyak wrote on the social media platform X. “This means that there is no possibility of retaining the #South, #Crimea and the Black Sea Fleet in the medium term. The countdown has already begun.”

Podolyak said Russia’s energy wealth was sustaining the war but that it would not stop Ukraine’s ultimate victory. “The oil and gas needle is still delaying the end,” he wrote. “But it has become inevitable a long time ago.”

Ukraine’s special operations forces confirmed in a Telegram message on Tuesday that they had carried out an overnight operation called “Dragonfly” in Berdyansk and in the occupied Luhansk region resulting in “significant losses” on the Russian side.

Nine helicopters, an antiaircraft missile launcher, an ammunition warehouse and various special equipment being held on airfields were destroyed, the message said. The Ukrainian claim could not be independently verified.

Airfield runways were also damaged in the strikes, the message said. The senior Ukrainian official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed ATACMS weaponry was used in the operation.

Ukraine is eager to strike Russian air capabilities, including helicopters, which Russian forces deploy regularly at the front line. “The enemy is trying to keep the helicopters closer to the front line,” Yuriy Ignat, spokesperson for the Air Force Command told Ukrainian outlet Hromadske. “And Luhansk, Berdyansk are directly not far from the front line.”

“But at the end of the day, defeating such equipment as the enemy helicopters that he uses – Ka-52, Mi-24 – of course, that’s good for us. Because helicopters, along with tactical aviation, are constantly working at the front and on the front line. The enemy is trying to keep the helicopters closer to the front line, as was the case in Chornobaivka. And Luhansk, Berdyansk are directly not far from the front line …” said Ignat.

Ukraine had long lobbied for the weapons – pronounced “attack-ems” – which would also potentially allow for farther strikes inside the Russian-occupied peninsula of Crimea.

U.S. officials initially rebuffed the requests, fearing that Ukraine might use the U.S.-supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russia. The Biden administration has feared that such a move could dramatically escalate the involvement of the United States in the war.

Critics said that by refusing to provide the weapons, President Biden was drawing an arbitrary line after sending more than $40 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

The U.S.-supplied arsenal has expanded in size and scope over time, from small arms and antitank missiles early on to advanced Abrams battle tanks expected to begin arriving this fall.

Still, it appears officials gradually warmed to the idea of providing the ATACMS. In May, as preparations for Ukraine’s counteroffensive were nearing completion, Biden said that the discussion was “still in play” when asked if it was time to send the weapons to Ukraine.