WASHINGTON, October 18. /TASS/. The US administration has made a grave mistake by deciding to supply Ukraine with ATACMS tactical missiles, the consequences of this step will be very serious, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said.
"The White House's decision to send long-range missiles to the Ukrainians is a terrible blunder. The consequences of this step, which was deliberately hidden from the public, will be of the gravest nature. Washington has been consistently pursuing a policy of severing bilateral relations," the diplomat said in a statement of the Russian embassy’s Telegram channel, commenting on the US side's deliveries of long-range ATACMS missiles to the Kiev regime.
"We have repeatedly warned the administration against taking rash steps. We have explained that pumping the Kiev regime with arms seriously undermines strategic and regional security. The United States continues to instigate a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia," the ambassador noted.
"The administration’s assistance and encouragement of the Zelensky regime’s atrocities make the United States a direct accomplice to its crimes. Kiev is purposefully using Washington’s supplies to attack civilian infrastructure and civilians," Antonov pointed out. "No US ‘gifts’ will affect the balance of power in the special military operation zone. All the tasks of the special military operation will be completed," the diplomat promised.
White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson earlier confirmed that the US had transferred ATACMS tactical missiles with a range of 165 kilometers to Ukraine.
Earlier, Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the 'We Are Together with Russia’ movement, said, without specifying the source of the information, that Ukrainian troops used ATACMS missiles equipped with cluster warheads for the first time during an attack on the city of Berdyansk in the Zaporozhye Region on Tuesday night. There was also a missile attack on Skadovsk in the Kherson Region, which resulted in two civilian casualties, Governor Vladimir Saldo said. The governor's press service told TASS that according to preliminary data, the Ukrainian forces used ATACMS.