WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — Ukraine has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russia military airfield in Crimea last week and another occupied area overnight, officials said Wednesday.

Long sought by Ukraine leaders, the new missiles give Ukraine nearly double the striking distance, 190 miles,  that it had with the mid-range version of the weapon it received from the U.S. in October 2023.

One of the officials said the U.S. is providing more of those missiles in a military aid package signed Wednesday by President Joe Biden.

In March, Biden approved delivery of Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, and the U.S. included a “significant” number in a $300 million aid package announced at the time, one official said.

The two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide the exact number of missiles provided last month or in the latest aid package.

Details about the delivery was kept so quiet that lawmakers and others had demanded the U.S. send the weapons, not realizing they already are in Ukraine.

A senior U.S. military official said Wednesday the White House and military planners carefully examined risk of providing long-range fires to Ukraine and determined the time is right to provide them.

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