Ukraine strikes Russian radar station reportedly able to track ATACMs provided by US

It has been revealed that Ukraine launched a drone strike on a Russian radar station reportedly able to detect and track long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles provided to the war-torn nation by the United States.

The move comes amid increasing pressure from President Zelensky and military leadership to gain permission from US officials to use American weapons to strike targets within Russia. While the Biden administration has long been against the possibility, there has been speculation that the ban could soon be lifted.

According to the Telegraph, the strike was carried out on the Armavir radar station in the Krasnodar border region on Thursday, May 23. The attack left extensive damage to the facility, which monitors activity in Russian airspace as well as that over occupied Crimea.

There are 10 such stations along the border with Ukraine, each of which are able to track 500 objects at the same time with a range of 4,000 miles.

Meanwhile, the Russian military has been relentless in its bombardment of eastern Ukraine, taking over numerous villages and launching a number of attacks on Kharkiv. 

The escalation has led Ukrainian officials to go to their allies in the west to demand the country be allowed to use weapons provided to it to strike back. As PBS reports, while the United Kingdom has decided to lift the ban, the United States has yet to follow suit.

Over the weekend, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly endorsed the idea, and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said it was time to “lift some of the restrictions.”

While some US politicians are weary, citing the risk of escalation, others have been more open to the idea of letting Ukraine do as it pleases with American weapons.
 

Among them was Sen. Mike Rounds, who argued that, “if they were actually attacking and destroying civilian targets, it may be a different story, but in this particular case, it seems to me that there is no escalation in this. The escalation has already occurred on the part of the Russian army.”