ATACMS missiles in action again? They hit Russian troops, the footage suggests

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According to Militarny website the Ukrainian army eliminated a “large group” of enemy soldiers near the settlement of Rokhove in the Luhansk region with ATACMS missiles.

In addition to the aforementioned grouping, the footage taken by the reconnaissance drone also shows the effects of three cluster warhead missiles, the website said, adding that they are much larger than the GLMRS combat sets. “Therefore, it is likely that ATACMS ballistic missiles of American origin caused the strike,” Militarny deduces.

According to the website, the Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) community identified the site of the strike from terrain landmarks, saying it was approximately 48 miles (78 kilometers) from the battle line.

Ukraine was able to start using long-range ATACMS missiles thanks to a secret delivery from the US. It became clear that US President Joe Biden approved their provision already at the beginning of March, and a “significant” number of them included a military aid package worth $300 million (almost 7.1 billion crowns), which the US announced at the time.

The new missiles, which Ukraine has long requested, allow hitting targets up to 300 kilometers away, which is almost twice the operational range of the older version of these missiles, which Ukraine received from the US last October.

Washington has long resisted Kiev’s insistence that it send it long-range missiles. He feared a possible escalation of the conflict if Ukraine used them deep in Russia. But at the same time, the Biden administration warned Moscow last year that if it acquires long-range ballistic missiles abroad and uses them in Ukraine, Washington will provide the same technology to Kiev according to the principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”.

According to American intelligence sources, Russia has acquired a certain number of these ballistic missiles from North Korea and is deploying them during the war in Ukraine, which is why the American government gave the green light to the delivery of such missiles to Ukraine.