MOSCOW, September 19. /TASS/. The possible delivery of the ATACMS tactical ballistic missile to Ukraine will not affect the course of Russia’s military operation in the region, but they may put civilian lives at risk, said acting leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin.
"These are not the first Western deliveries to the enemy. <...> But they pose additional threats to civilians, because we can witness that whenever the enemy suffers major losses, without any victories at the front, they start shelling localities out of anger, in particular in the Donetsk People’s Republic," Pushilin told Rossiya-24 television. He slammed the practice as another escalation that, he said, will not "turn the tide of the military operation anyway."
The Wall Street Journal reported on September 15, citing senior US officials, that the Biden administration is considering supplying the Army’s Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, to Ukraine this fall, with no presidential decision so far.
In turn, White House spokesman John Kirby said that a decision had not been made yet on ATACMS, the ballistic missile with a range of up to 300 km.
Axios also reported, citing US officials, that Washington is not planning to announce the delivery of long-range missiles during Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s coming visit to the United States. A Biden-Zelensky meeting in Washington is scheduled for September 21.