Ukraine: US delivery of ATACMS could prove pivotal – but has been controversial
They have a catchy name. They’re called “attack’ems”.
It’s a play on an acronym, ATACMS, which itself stands for Army Tactical Missile System.
To you and me it’s a long-range missile.
It has a range of about 180 miles, it’s guided, it can be fired from Ukraine’s existing fleet of missile launch systems and President Zelenskyy’s battlefield commanders have been asking for it for some time.
Sources here in Washington have confirmed to me that America will provide a small number of the ATACMS to Ukraine soon.
Used tactically, they could hit Russian supply lines and command/control locations in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine war latest: One missing after strike on Russia’s Black Sea fleet
President Biden and President Zelenskyy. Pic: AP
Ukraine already has Storm Shadow cruise missiles which have a longer range than the ATACMS. But these must be launched from fighter jets. They require good weather and a capable air force. Ukraine is short of fighter jets.
The ATACMS can be launched from the ground in all weather at a point closest to the frontline beyond which the target is. This is tactically advantageous.
America had a number of concerns about supplying the ATACMS to Ukraine.
First, the enduring concern over how Russia would respond to ever-more sophisticated Western weaponry on the battlefield, especially if the weapons were capable of striking within Russia itself.
Given the positions of the current frontline and the range of the ATACMS, it would be a push for them to hit Russian territory.
The second particular concern with the ATACMS is supply. It’s understood that the American stock of the missile is not at a level which makes US officials feel entirely comfortable about handing a whole load of them over to Ukraine.
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US to send weapons to Ukraine
Some dormant variants of the weapon may be more available, and we know too that an order was given in the last ‘National Defence Authorisation Act’ to procure and produce nearly 2000 more ATACMS – perhaps to backfill supply given to Ukraine.
There is an interesting dichotomy emerging in American politics when it comes to Ukraine.
On the left, among Democratic Party politicians, there is overwhelming support for continued financial and material support for Ukraine.
The dichotomy lies on the right. Some within the Republican Party, a vocal minority deeply aligned with Donald Trump, oppose all funding for Ukraine which they inaccurately say comes in the form of ‘blank cheques’.
Others, from the more traditional core of the Republican Party, argue that the battlefield stalemate and the concerns of the Trumpian caucus could all have been avoided if President Biden provided all the weaponry needed much earlier.
But of course, we’ll never know how President Putin would have responded if the West had laid all their weapons on for Ukraine to use at the start of this bloody war.
World
Israel confirms Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar was killed – as group makes counter-offer on ceasefire
Israel has confirmed its forces have killed Hamas’s Gaza chief, Mohammad Sinwar, as US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff called the group’s counter-offer on a ceasefire “totally unacceptable”.
Mohammad Sinwar became the leader of the militant group in the Gaza Strip after his older brother Yahya Sinwar was killed last October.
In a statement, the Israeli military said it had killed Sinwar on 13 May, and was the target of a strike on a hospital in southern Gaza.
Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied his death, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliament on Wednesday that he had been “eliminated”.
A handout image of Mohammed Sinwar from December 2023. Pic: Israeli Army / Reuters
Hamas seeks changes in US ceasefire proposal
It comes as Hamas said it was seeking amendments to a US-proposed ceasefire deal, offering 10 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 18 in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
On Thursday, the White House said Israel agreed to a 60-day ceasefire proposal, which would see the release of nine living hostages and half of the known hostages who have died over the course of a week.
Israel and Hamas would then continue talks to bring the remaining hostages home, but Israel would retain the right to resume military action in Gaza if talks were to break down.
In a statement about the proposal on Saturday, Hamas said its response “aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to our people in the Strip”.
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Israeli ambassador claims ‘no starvation in Gaza’
Hamas offer ‘totally unacceptable’ – Witkoff
Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy, Mr Witkoff, said on social media that Hamas’s response is “totally unacceptable and only takes us backwards”.
“Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,” he added.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters that the group has not rejected the proposal but added Mr Witkoff’s response was “unfair” and showed “complete bias” towards Israel.
Israel has not yet responded to Hamas’ counter-offer, but has previously rejected the conditions and demanded the complete disarmament and dismantling of the group.
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Meanwhile, Gaza aid groups have said dozens of World Food Programme (WFP) trucks carrying flour to Gaza bakeries had been hijacked by armed groups and subsequently looted by people.
The WFP added: “After nearly 80 days of a total blockade, communities are starving and they are no longer willing to watch food pass them by.”
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Amjad Al-Shawa, head of an umbrella group representing Palestinian aid groups, said hundreds more trucks were needed and accused Israel of a “systematic policy of starvation”.
Israel denies operating a policy of starvation and says it is facilitating aid deliveries via the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Instead, it accuses Hamas of stealing supplies.
At least seven people have died in a train derailment in Russia which happened after a bridge collapsed.
Local authorities have blamed “illegal interference” for the incident in Bryansk region.
The train was travelling from Moscow to Klimov when it came off its tracks, killing the driver and six others. An infant was among 28 people taken to hospital.
Pic: Moscow Transport Prosecutor’s Office
Emergency workers are at the scene attempting to pull survivors from the wreckage.
Russian media reported that the passenger train crashed into the collapsed bridge.
There were a series of clashes with riot police in the French capital after Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time on Saturday night.
Flares and fireworks were set off in Paris after PSG beat Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich – the biggest ever victory in a Champions League final.
Around 5,400 police were deployed across Paris after the game, with officers using tear gas and pepper spray on the Champs Elysees.
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
At the top of the Champs-Élysées, a water cannon was used to protect the Place de l’Étoile, near the landmark Arc de Triomphe.
Police said a large crowd not watching the match tried to push through a barrier to make contact with officers.
Some 131 arrests were made, including 30 who broke into a shoe shop on the Champs-Élysées.
Two cars were set alight close to Parc des Princes, police said.
PSG striker Ousmane Dembele appealed for calm in a post-match interview with Canal+, saying: “Let’s celebrate this but not tear everything up in Paris.”
Pics: AP
After the full-time whistle in Germany, thousands of supporters also tried to rush the field at the Allianz Arena.
Police lined up in front of the PSG end of the stadium at the final whistle, but struggled to contain the fans for several minutes when they came down from the stands following the trophy presentation.
Pics: AP
Desire Doue, the 19-year-old who scored two goals and assisted one in the final, said after the game: “I don’t have words. But what I can say is, ‘Thank you Paris,’ we did it.”
Despite being an Olympique de Marseille supporter, French President Emmanuel Macron also said on social media: “A glorious day for PSG!
“Bravo, we are all proud. Paris, the capital of Europe this evening.”
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Mr Macron’s office said the president would receive the players at the Elysee Palace on Sunday.
The team are also expected to parade down the Champs Elysees.
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