The United States last week secretly shipped a new long-range missile system to Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces immediately used the weapons to attack a Russian military airfield in Crimea last Wednesday and Russian troops in the country’s southeast overnight on Tuesday, according to a senior U.S. official.
The missiles can reach deeper into occupied Ukraine, including Crimea, a hub of Russian air and ground forces, and supply nodes for Moscow’s forces in the country’s southeast.
In a major policy shift, President Biden secretly approved the decision to send more than 100 of the longer-range missiles in mid-February.
Administration officials kept the shipment secret to avoid tipping off the Russians.