News Feed

US senator meets Zelensky, calls for supplying ATACMS to Ukraine

2 min read
US senator meets Zelensky, calls for supplying ATACMS to Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky met with U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham in Kyiv on May 26, 2023. (Photo: President's Office)

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 26 and called for supplying long-range ATACMS missiles and cluster munitions to Ukraine, news agency Interfax-Ukraine reported.

The faster ATACMS and cluster munitions are delivered to Ukraine, the more territory Kyiv will be able to liberate and the fewer lives will be lost, he said.

Graham went on to say that he would encourage his colleagues in the Senate and the Biden administration to provide Ukraine with the long-range weapon system.

According to the President's Office, Zelensky emphasized that "the time has come" for the U.S. and other allies to provide Ukraine with more long-range weapons that would "help the Ukrainian defense forces achieve strategic goals on the battlefield, de-occupy Ukrainian territories and reduce losses among defenders."

Ukraine has been asking for ATACMS given that they have a range of approximately 305 kilometers. So far, the U.S. has refused to supply them.

Zelensky also commended the U.S. government's "historic" decision to join the so-called fighter jet coalition alongside other Western allies to procure F-16s for Ukraine and train Ukrainian pilots on how to operate them, the President's Office wrote.

The visit marks Graham's third time in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.

Avatar
The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

Read more
News Feed

Russia confirmed that it had handed over 1,000 bodies to Ukraine under the Istanbul agreement in exchange for 38 bodies of fallen Russian soldiers, Kremlin-controlled news agency TASS reported on Jan. 29.

Video

Colombians, many shaped by decades of armed conflict at home, have become one of the largest groups of foreign volunteers fighting for Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. The Kyiv Independent's Jared Goyette speaks with a Colombian volunteer who spent two years fighting in Ukraine.

Show More