State department confirms US began secretly providing Ukraine long-range ATACMS missiles in March

The U.S. began this spring secretly providing Ukraine with long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) at President Joe Biden's direction, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel confirmed at a press briefing on April 24.

"He (Biden) quietly directed his National Security team to send ATACMS to Ukraine for use inside Ukrainian sovereign territory in February. They started moving as part of the military aid package we announced on March 12," Patel said. Ukraine received missiles in April, according to Patel.

Photo: South Korean Defense Ministry