NYT: US secretly delivered 100 ATACMS missiles to Ukraine

Last week, the US secretly sent over 100 long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. Some missiles were immediately deployed and used to strike Russia's Jankoy military airfield in occupied Crimea, the New York Times (NYT) reported.
On March 12, Washington announced a $300 million aid package for Kiev as Congress debated further aid to Ukraine.
In February, US President Joe Biden instructed his team to include ATACMS long-range air defense systems in the package, doing so secretly for security reasons and "to preserve the element of surprise for Ukraine."
The NYT, citing an unnamed US official, said it was these missiles that struck Jankoi Airport on April 17.
On April 18, Ukrainian military intelligence reported that Ukrainian forces destroyed four S-400 launchers, three radar stations, an air defense operations command post and Fundament-M airspace surveillance equipment in the attack.
The US first delivered older models of ATACMS medium-range missiles to Ukraine last fall after months of discussion. Older models have a range of 165 km.
The newer ATACMS models have a maximum range of about 300 km. and their delivery to Ukraine was not known to the public until now.
Kiev has repeatedly pushed its Western allies for longer-range weapons, including the newer ATACMS. However, the partners were hesitant to supply weapons that could potentially be used to strike Russian territory.
The Pentagon has also raised concerns that Ukraine's deployment of long-range missiles could harm US military readiness by depleting its own stockpile. The US was able to dispel these concerns in January, which led to the final decision to send them to Ukraine./BGNES