The White House has not confirmed reports on the supply of ATACMS to Ukraine

The US has not confirmed the discussion of the supply of long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine

The administration of US President Joe Biden has not confirmed to RIA Novosti reports about the possible inclusion of ATACMS long-range missile systems in the package of military assistance to Ukraine.

"I cannot confirm," a representative of the White House National Security Council responded to the agency's request.

ATACMS is a long—range guided missile developed by the American company Lockheed Martin. ATACMS can also be fired from multiple rocket launchers, such as M270 MLRS and M142 HIMARS. Missiles of the latest versions can hit a target at a distance of up to 310 km with an accuracy of 1 m.

Earlier, BBC News, citing American officials, reported that the US presidential administration is considering this possibility. One interlocutor of the TV channel said that the decision is already "approaching"; another pointed to the possibility of including ATACMS in the next package of military assistance. Both sources noted that a final decision has not yet been made.

The Ukrainian authorities have been appealing to the United States for more than a year with a request to supply ATACMS to the country. Last January, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky called long-range missiles "vital supplies." However, the US rejected the requests. Among the reasons, as the WSJ reported, citing a congressional source, there were disagreements over the possible use of these missiles by Ukraine for attacks on Crimea.

After the start of the military operation, Russia has repeatedly condemned and criticized Western supplies of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine. The Kremlin said that "pumping up" Kiev with weapons would only prolong the conflict and bring "more suffering" to the country, but would not change the outcome of the military operation. The press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin perceives this as the intention of the United States "to support Ukraine in fact in a state of war and to wage this war to the last Ukrainian, sparing no money for it."