WASHINGTON, June 9. /TASS/. A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has put forward a resolution urging the Washington administration to immediately deliver the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to the Kiev government, the press service of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said in a statement on Friday.
The resolution was supported by Committee Chair Michael McCaul of Texas, as well as a number of other Democrats and Republicans.
"By not giving Ukraine the weapons it needs to win this war, the administration is prolonging the conflict and costing countless Ukrainian lives," McCaul was quoted as saying. "The success of Ukraine’s counteroffensive is directly tied to the military assistance provided by the U.S. and our allies. As such, it is extremely disappointing the administration is sitting on billions in remaining military funding with which it could immediately transfer ATACMS to Ukraine and, in turn, help their Armed Forces make a major difference on the battlefield."
US lawmakers say that the Kiev government has repeatedly requested the US-made ATACMS, which has a range of approximately 300 km, "to be able to strike key Russian logistics nodes, command and control posts, and other high-value military targets."
The congressmen believe that the United Kingdom’s delivery of Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine "was met with no significant response from the Russian Federation."
Commenting on the possibility of ATACMS deliveries to Kiev, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in late May that she has "nothing to announce" on this issue. In the same month, US President Joe Biden said the issue was still under consideration. Prior to that, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the US Department of State Dereck Hogan said the White House had no plans of delivering ATACMS to Ukraine at this stage.