The Biden administration is set to announce new security assistance for Ukraine later on Thursday, coinciding with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington D.C., while the new package won’t include Kyiv’s request for long-range ATACMS missiles.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said earlier in the day the new weapons aid for Ukraine includes capabilities “to help Ukraine maintain its momentum in the counteroffensive,” such as additional ammunition for HIMARS, anti-armor capabilities, artillery ammunition and more DPICMS cluster munitions.
“These capabilities will help Ukraine harden its defenses ahead of what is likely to be a tough winter filled with renewed Russian attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure to try to deprive innocent people of necessities like heat and electricity,” Sullivan said during a press briefing.
Sullivan was asked on Thursday whether Lockheed Martin [LMT]-built ATACMS would be included, and confirmed they will not, while adding President Biden has “not taken it off the table in the future.”
“What I can say is the president is constantly speaking both to his own military and to his counterparts in Europe and to the Ukrainians themselves about what is needed on the battlefield at any given phase of the war and what the United States can provide while also ensuring that we are able to provide for our own deterrence and defense needs. As he has weighed that all up to date, he has determined that he would not provide ATACMS but he has also not taken it off the table in the future. I don’t have anything to announce about that today,” Sullivan said.
While the U.S. has been delivering GMLRS rockets for the HIMARS launchers it has provided to Ukraine, both also built by Lockheed Martin, it has yet to commit to sending longer-range ATACMS missiles.
ATACMS can reach out to 300 kilometers, more than three times the ability of GMLRS’ max range.
Ukraine has consistently reiterated its request for longer-range missiles to assist in its fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion, with the Biden administration now reportedly leaning closer toward considering donating the weapon in future security aid packages.
Doug Bush, the Army’s top acquisition official, told reporters on Tuesday if the U.S. were to provide ATACMS to Ukraine that the service would look to replenish its stockpile of that weapon with the new Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) (Defense Daily, Sept. 19).
PrSM is also built by Lockheed Martin and is the Army’s program to replace ATACMS, with the base weapon reaching ranges up to 500 kilometers and future increments looking to double the new capability’s range.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the White House on Thursday for not providing the weapon to Ukraine and called on the Biden administration to immediately send Congress a supplemental request “to increase industrial production on the ATACMS and Precision Strike Missile lines.”
“Does the Biden administration want Ukraine to win, or not?” Wicker said. “Every delay in supplying Ukraine with the tools it needs to secure victory has cost unnecessary lives and prolonged the war. Instead of leading from the front, the President held back for months after Britain and France provided deep-strike missiles. This is yet another example of the dangerous drip-drip-drip approach by the Biden administration, which has failed to give Ukraine a bigger advantage.”
Biden hosted Zelenskyy at the White House on Thursday, the sixth such in-person meeting between the two leaders, after both spoke at the UN General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday emphasizing continued support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion.
“This meeting comes at a significant moment, as Ukrainian forces continue to make progress in their counteroffensive and just after Russia launched yet another brutal wave of airstrikes against five cities in Ukraine that hit critical civilian infrastructure and knocked out power for many people in many different parts of the country,” Sullivan said.
Earlier on Thursday, Zelenskyy visited Congress and briefed lawmakers on the latest details of the conflict and then met with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon.
“[Austin] met today with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to reaffirm the steadfast U.S. support for Ukraine. Secretary Austin provided an update on how U.S. security assistance is meeting Ukraine’s most urgent needs, and the outcomes of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group held in Ramstein, Germany earlier this week. The leaders also discussed Ukraine’s long-term capability requirements and how support from the United States and other partners will help build a more robust Ukrainian force, capable of defending Ukraine for years to come,” the Pentagon wrote in a readout of the meeting.
Following the recent Ukraine Defense Contact Group Meeting, Austin told reporters he’s asked international partners to “dig deep” for efforts to continue assisting Ukraine, including for more air defense capabilities, as the conflict nears its second winter (Defense Daily, Sept. 19).