Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Six members of Congress have released a bipartisan resolution urging the Biden administration to send Army Tactical Missile Systems to Ukraine.
ATACMS are 24/7, all-weather, surface-to-surface guided missiles that engage targets, according to the Army. Targets can include air defense artillery sites, surface-to-surface missile units, logistics sites, command and control complexes and helicopter forward operating bases. They were used in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq War by the joint force, Joint Special Operations Forces and Army Land Component Command.
The bipartisan resolution comes amid reports that Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive in its war with Russia.
Among the lawmakers who have introduced the resolution is House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX). In a statement Friday, McCaul said “by not giving Ukraine the weapons it needs to win this war, the administration is prolonging the conflict and costing countless Ukrainian lives.”
“The success of Ukraine’s counteroffensive is directly tied to the military assistance provided by the U.S. and our allies,” he continued. “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.”
The other lawmakers sponsoring the legislation are:
The Pentagon, meanwhile, announced another security assistance package to Ukraine on Friday worth $2.1 billion. It includes munitions for Patriot air defense systems, HAWK defense systems as well as missiles and additional artillery rounds, among other weapons.