The White House announced on Thursday that the United States would deliver “significant” air defence assets to Ukraine, but would not, for the time being, provide the long-range ATACMS missiles that Kyiv is demanding.
US president Joe Biden “has determined that he would not provide ATACMS, but he has also not taken it off the table in the future," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told a news conference.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in Washington on Thursday and was scheduled to be received at the White House, said this week that it would be a “disappointment” for him to leave without the powerful tactical missiles.
He also praised the results of the counter-offensive undertaken by the Ukrainian armed forces, which had been criticised by unnamed US military officials in the press.
“Ukraine is actually regaining ground, they are doing it methodically, one step at a time,” he said.
Sullivan estimated that, thanks in part to US military assistance, Ukrainian forces had managed to liberate more territory in three months than the Russians had been able to take in eight months.
Several major cities in Ukraine are not under Russian occupation or domination today, Sullivan noted. This was due, firstly, to the courage of the Ukrainian soldiers and the Ukrainian people who support them but also, not insignificantly, "thanks to the material support we have provided,” he added.
Some Republican politicians have been calling for the US to end financial and military aid to Ukraine, claiming among other things that it was a lost cause.
