- A new interactive map made by war analysts shows 245 targets inside Russia that Ukraine could hit with ATACMS.
- The US and Western allies have forbidden Ukraine from using their weapons on targets inside Russia.
- Ukraine has repeatedly asked for the green light, even preparing a list of targets to convince Washington.
A new interactive map shows hundreds of targets inside Russia that Ukraine could hit with its US-provided ATACMS if the White House gave it the green light to do so.
The presentation comes after months of debate between Washington and Kyiv, with the former repeatedly saying that lifting the restrictions on how and where Ukraine uses its US-provided weapons won't make a difference on the battlefield.
According to the map, which was created by the Institute for the Study of War and the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats project, there are 245 military targets inside Russia within range of the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems Ukraine has available in its arsenal.
A static map also shows the targets, as well as the ranges of different variants of ATACMS compared to Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS). Both the ATACMS and GMLRS can be fired by the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
The targets are defined as being military and paramilitary, including air bases. As the map says, no Russian military air bases are within range of GMLRS, which are not subject to the same restrictions as the ATACMS.
For deep strikes, Ukraine has had to rely on indigenous systems, such as long-range drones or homegrown missiles.
Per the target map, the extended range of the ATACMS puts a host of potential Russian targets within reach that were previously untouchable by other Western-provided weapons.
ISW also detailed the targets and their approximate locations in a list format. All of this, per ISW, is "to illustrate the extent to which US restrictions on Ukraine's use of ATACMS constrain Ukraine's ability to strike important military infrastructure."
Ukraine and the US have been in a monthlong debate over the potential use of ATACMS to strike targets in Russian territory. The US has maintained a stance that allowing Ukraine to do this wouldn't change the status of the war or help Ukraine's ground forces, primarily because Russia has moved many of its most important targets and assets back from the border and out of the range of ATACMS.
But Ukraine has repeatedly asked for permission, noting that key targets are still within range and arguing that since Russia strikes targets within Ukraine, Kyiv should be able to as well.
Just Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that "there should be no restrictions on the range of weapons for Ukraine, while terrorists have no such restrictions."
The next day, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that Ukraine has some cross-border strike permissions, but "as it relates to long-range strike, deep strikes into Russia, our policy has not changed."
This week, Ukrainian officials will be presenting the US with a tailored list of potential Russian targets, US officials told Politico, as a last resort to convince Washington to lift the weapons restrictions the country says are holding it back.