By: Claire Zhou

The Biden administration has no plan to send long-range army missiles to Ukraine. The U.S. have assisted Ukraine the most during the Russian war, up to $42 billion.

In late May, Biden had firmly said that there was no possibility of ATACMS, Army Tactical Missile System, which is a tactical ballistic missile. However, Biden’s opinions changed when, two weeks later, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that when he and Biden talked, there had been no decision made on the missiles at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Ukraine said ATACMS are necessary to tear down command posts and logistics areas far inside Russian front lines, which has a range of 190 miles.

“Without long-range weapons, it is difficult not only to carry out an offensive mission but also to conduct a defensive operation,” Zelensky said at a news conference in July.

ATACMS would allow Ukrainian forces to reach some of the farthest points of their current front lines, including the 12-mile Kerch Bridge, in Russia and the Russian naval base at Sevastopol.

Ukraine has turned to its supporters in Congress and U.S. lawmakers have made loud demands for the Biden administration to allow the transfer of missiles.