US senator meets Zelensky, calls for supplying ATACMS to Ukraine

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.

Editorial: Arming Ukraine won’t escalate war. Reluctance to do so will

First it was the tanks, now it’s the fighter jets. As Ukraine braces for another possible major Russian offensive in the upcoming weeks, Western leaders are yet again coming up with a variety of excuses why this time, they cannot justify supplying F-16 and F-35 fighter jets to Ukraine.

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent