WASHINGTON, Sept 23: U.S. President Joe Biden has informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Washington will provide Kyiv with ATACMS long-range missiles, NBC News reported on Friday, citing three U.S. officials and a congressional official.
Kyiv has repeatedly asked the Biden administration for Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to help attack and disrupt supply lines, air bases and rail networks in Russian occupied territory.
But the White House did not disclose any decision on ATACMS when Zelenskiy visited Washington on Thursday for talks with Biden, even as it announced a new $325 million military aid package for Kyiv.
The White House and Pentagon declined to comment on the NBC report. The Pentagon also declined to say whether any promise of ATACMS were given to Zelenskiy during his meetings on Thursday at the Pentagon, saying: "In regards to ATACMS we have nothing to announce."
In Ottawa, Zelenskiy did not answer directly when asked about the NBC report, but noted that United States was the biggest single supplier of weaponry to Ukraine.
"We are discussing all the different types of weapons - long range weapons and artillery, artillery shells with the caliber of 155 mm, then air defense systems," Zelenskiy, speaking through an interpreter, told a press conference during an official visit to Canada. �Reuters
