By: Eric Xu

The war between Russia and Ukraine is only escalating every day, and the United States is not giving Ukraine the weapons they want. Ukraine wants long-ranged missiles, called ATACMs, but the U.S. believes they do not need them.

Russia and Ukraine have been at war since 2014, but it has only been escalating since 2022. Russia wants Ukraine back because they want to reestablish a Russian empire.

Ukraine’s army could not defeat Russia alone. Luckily, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been helping Ukraine by sending different weapons. The U.S. is one of the main contributors, and has been a massive help for Ukraine. A recent study states, “Since 2014, the United States has provided more than $45.4 billion…” (State government, 2023) That is a huge amount of money, and has helped balance the war.

Ukraine asked for hundreds of the U.S. ‘s ATACMs, but the U.S. is very hesitant. One reason is because the U.S believed that Ukraine might “fire long-range missiles into Russian territory, escalating the conflict into a U.S.-Russia confrontation.” (Washington Post, 2023) This would cause war to involve the U.S. directly, which is not what the U.S. wants. They want to help Ukraine, but not be in direct war with Russia. Even sending these powerful missiles would be crossing a line, as they are powerful enough to “strike targets 300 kilometers away, delivering up to 560 kilograms of explosive payload” (Yahoo News, 2023) Even if these issues are not concerning, the U.S still has reasons why not to give Ukraine these weapons.

The U.S. has sent many weapons, including F-15 fighter jets and thousands of tanks, vehicles, and jets. They also have given them training and new high-tech weapons, such as guided missiles. With all of these weapons, the U.S. believes that “Ukraine doesn’t really need them [ATACMs].”(Washington Post, 2023) The U.S. already has spent tons of money and resources on Ukraine, and the Pentagon says it can not spare any ATACMs.

The aggressive attacks of Russia into Ukraine soil is causing Ukraine to ask for ATACMs. Even though the U.S. is hesitant and is not agreeing currently, it is unknown whether the U.S. will ultimately agree or not.

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