Four U.S. Republican Party senators have called on U.S. President Joe Biden to immediately transfer long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, a letter published on the website of Republican Senator Tom Cotton on Sept. 16 reads.
“We write to urge you to immediately send MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine,” said Senators Roger Wicker, Tom Cotton, Susan Collins, and Lindsey Graham in their joint letter.
Read also: Biden close to decision to supply Ukraine with ATACMS missiles – FT
“Additional delay will only further undermine U.S. national security interests and extend this conflict.”
The senators said they believed that ATACMS will allow Ukraine to strike key Russian logistics and communications facilities, as well as cruise missile and drone launch sites in the occupied territories.
Read also: US may send limited number of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine — WSJ
The letter mentions the combat effectiveness of similar long-range weapons – British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles – that Ukraine recently used to attack the port of Sevastopol in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula.
The senators called for “immediate shipment” of the ATACMS rocket version with a longer-range unitary warhead to Ukraine.
In the letter, the senators said that providing missiles to Ukraine would maximize the likelihood of success of its current counter-offensive, as well as future operations. ATACMS could also enhance Ukraine’s ability to destroy Russian defensive formations, they said.
Over the past week, a number of prominent media outlets, including Reuters, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times have reported that the White House is close to transferring long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine.
However, the Pentagon has not yet confirmed that it can transfer ATACMS to Ukraine.
Read also: Biden and Zelenskyy discuss ATACMS missiles for Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy intends to discuss the supply of ATACMS to Ukraine during his upcoming meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington.
At the same time, Axios reports that the United States does not plan to announce the supply of ATACMS to Ukraine during Zelenskyy’s visit.
Zelenskyy is due to attend the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York. The general assembly opens on Sept. 19 and runs until Sept. 26.
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