NEW YORK, October 17. /TASS/. The US administration has quietly provided the Kiev regime with long-range ATACMS missiles in order to try to take Russian troops by surprise, CNN reported.

According to it, the US was concerned that Russia "would move equipment and weapons out of reach before the missiles could be used," had the delivery of the missiles been announced in advance.

In turn, the Associated Press (AP) reported that due to concerns by the US administration about potential exacerbated tensions in relations with Russia, the ATACMS missiles delivered to Ukraine have a somewhat shorter range.

Earlier on Tuesday, Vladimir Rogov, leader of the We Are Together With Russia movement, said, without indicating sources, that overnight on Tuesday, during an attack on the city of Berdyansk in the Zaporozhye Region, Ukrainian troops used US-made ATACMS missiles with cluster warheads for the first time.