A senior US government official has disclosed that Washington shipped long-range missiles capable of precision strikes to Ukraine.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Wednesday that President Joe Biden instructed the delivery of a significant number of Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, in February.
He revealed that these were included in the military aid package for Ukraine that the Biden administration announced last month.
Sullivan said the missiles have arrived in Ukraine, and that the US will send more.
Sullivan stressed that the weapons will be for use only in Ukraine, and not to attack Russian territory.
US media says the ATACMS have a maximum range of about 300 kilometers.
If they are fired from Kherson in southern Ukraine, they would have the naval port city of Sevastopol in Russian-annexed Crimea within range.
Congressional haggling over additional aid for Ukraine raised speculation that the US had exhausted all of its funding options.
The Biden administration explains that the military aid containing the missile shipments was arranged by cutting costs off the existing budget.