What does using ATACMS missiles against Russia mean for Ukraine – DW – 11/20/2024

On the night of November 19, 2024, Ukraine reportedly used American ATACMS (“Army Tactical Missile System”) missiles to attack an ammunition depot in the Russian region of Bryansk.

Bryansk is a border region of Russia, bordering both Ukraine and the Kursk Oblast, partly under Ukrainian control.

Kiev had for months been seeking the green light from the United States to deploy these missiles, which have a range of up to 300 kilometers, against targets inside the Russian Federation.

This demand is also part of the victory plan that Volodymyr Zelensky presented to the US and other countries in October. Ukrainian citizens and leaders reacted cautiously to the news of the sanctions being lifted.

Already on November 17, Western media, citing informed sources, reported that the administration of US President Joe Biden has lifted the ban on attacking targets in Russia with American weapons.

News portal Axios later reported that the US decision concerned specifically the Russian Kursk region, where North Korean troops are now based. President Zelensky was irritated by this information. “Things like this are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves,” he said.

“The day the climb began”

Reactions to the lifting of restrictions on social media have varied greatly. Some call the US decision late and unilateral, but long-awaited and necessary. However, many are angry that the lifting of sanctions was announced before Ukraine attacked military targets in Russia.

Ukrainian experts, for their part, point out that the lifting of the ban on the use of ATACMS missiles means that Ukraine is on a certain level playing field in the war. Serhiy Kuzan, chief military expert of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, also has the same opinion. “Long-range weapons mean parity, because the Russians can attack the Ukrainians from a depth of 1,600 to 2,500 kilometers, so they will have similar capabilities,” Kusan told DW.

The expert believes that the US decision on the deployment of ATAMCS missiles may come a little late, but it is still important. Kusan is confident that this will significantly strengthen Ukraine’s offensive capabilities, which will have an impact on the situation at the front in the future, especially in defense against attacks by Russian-North Korean forces in the Kursk area.

“Why not the same prospects for Kyiv?”

“It is clear that the Russians want to eliminate Ukrainian control over parts of the Kursk region as quickly as possible,” Kusan underlined. “The Russians are advancing, bringing in North Korean troops and thereby freeing up additional reserves for the part of the front near Pokrovsk and Kurakhov,” the expert asks. Why shouldn’t Kiev have the same possibilities on the entire front? “

Kostiantin Mashovets, military expert of the non-governmental project “Information Resistance Group” (“Informative Resistance Group”) believes that the use of ATACMS missiles can allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to conduct effective strikes inside Russia, where logistics forces and command centers are located. “It can hinder the enemy’s maneuver,” he insists.

An argument in conversation?

Oleksandr Kryuz of the “Ukrainian Prism” analytical center specializing in foreign policy and international security believes that lifting the ban on the use of American missiles will help strengthen Ukraine’s position in future negotiations.

“This could serve as an argument in negotiations: Ukrainians no longer attack the territory of the Russian Federation and in return the Russians leave the territory of Ukraine,” the expert tells DW.

Krause believes that existing restrictions on the 300-kilometre border can also be gradually relaxed and Kiev will eventually get what it wants. Ukraine’s partners want to see how Russia responds first. But only time will tell whether Russia will react and whether tensions will escalate, which the West fears.

(MD/MS)