The first strike was about 100 miles inside Crimea's border on the morning of April 17, targeting a Russian military airfield, according to the officials.
The Biden administration has not previously acknowledged sending ATACMS to Ukraine, but a National Security Council spokesperson confirmed that the U.S. has provided them.
The NSC spokesperson said the administration did not reveal at the time that it was sending Ukraine the long-range missiles for operational security reasons.
President Joe Biden directed his national security team to send the ATACMS to Ukraine secretly, the spokesperson said.
The powerful missiles have a range up to 300 kilometers (about 187 miles) and allow Ukraine to strike the Russian military throughout Crimea and in occupied parts of eastern Ukraine that had been difficult to reach.
Persons:
Biden, ATACMS, Joe Biden, Kostiantyn Liberov
Organizations:
South Korean Defense Ministry, U.S, MGM, Tactical Missile, South, Getty, Russian, Army Tactical Missile, National Security, NSC, Armed Forces
Locations:
U.S, South Korea, East Coast , South Korea, Ukraine, Crimea's, Russian, Ukrainian, Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Crimea