JASSM cruise missiles from the USA will be transferred to Ukraine #mediazone #war #cruisemissiles

The United States is preparing to transfer long-range JASSM air-to-ground cruise missiles to Ukraine, which are installed on Western-made F-16 aircraft, Reuters reports, citing sources. The United States has secretly supplied Ukraine with ATACMS long-range ballistic missiles in recent weeks, an unnamed US official told Reuters. According to an agency source, ATACMS missiles were included in the $300 million military aid package to Ukraine that US President Joe Biden approved on March 12. The Reuters interlocutor did not specify exactly how many missiles were transferred to Ukraine. At the same time, the official claims that missiles have already been used - for the first time, according to him, this happened on the morning of April 17. Then, in annexed Crimea, an airfield located approximately 165 kilometers from the front line was attacked, the Reuters source added. ATACMS range is up to 300 kilometers. Initially, the Pentagon opposed the supply of such missiles to Ukraine. According to a Reuters source, views on this issue changed when Russia began attacking Ukraine in December and January with long-range missiles supplied from the DPRK and launching massive attacks on the country's critical infrastructure. Today, Joe Biden signed a law allocating $61 billion in military aid to Ukraine (it follows that the United States will be able to transfer ATACMS long-range missiles to Kyiv). Consideration of the bill, which also provides for assistance to Israel and Taiwan, has been delayed since the fall. The bill passed the House of Representatives on April 20 and the Senate last night. On the morning of April 17, telegram channels reported about explosions and a fire in the area of ​​a military airfield in the Crimean Dzhankoy. An air threat was declared on the peninsula, traffic was blocked on the Crimean Bridge and the road from Dzhankoy to the village of Pobednoye was closed. The administration of US President Joe Biden “secretly” allowed Ukraine to strike targets in Russia with American weapons, but only in the Kharkov area. This was reported by Politico, citing two unnamed American officials and two other sources familiar with this decision. According to one of Politico's interlocutors, Biden has instructed his team to ensure that the weapons transferred to Ukraine by the United States are used to counter Russian troops that strike or prepare to strike Kharkov. At the same time, the US policy regarding long-range strikes against targets inside Russia “has not changed,” the publication claims. Officially, the White House is against attacks by American weapons on Russian territory. This was confirmed on May 18 by White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. “We do not encourage or tolerate attacks using US-supplied weapons systems on Russian soil,” he said. Russian troops are striking Kharkov from the Belgorod region, Ukrainian authorities report. From there, according to the Kharkov prosecutor's office, on May 25, a hypermarket with about 200 visitors was attacked. According to the latest data, 19 people were killed as a result of the strike. On May 18, the Wall Street Journal reported that Ukraine had asked the Biden administration to lift restrictions on the use of American weapons to strike targets inside Russia. After this, 13 members of the US Congress proposed allowing Kyiv to use these weapons “in certain circumstances. According to the New York Times, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also supports lifting the ban. At the end of April, Biden signed a law allocating $61 billion in military aid to Ukraine, from which it follows that Washington can transfer long-range ATACMS missiles to Kyiv. At the same time, Reuters reported that the United States had already secretly transferred these missiles to Ukraine, and it was using them to strike the annexed Crimea.