War map shows all Russian military bases within ATACMS attack range

A map shows the Russian military bases in Ukraine that could be attacked by the army’s tactical missile systems with American permission.

ATACMS missiles are long-range missiles that Ukraine deployed during Russia’s large-scale invasion of the country, which began in February 2022.

On June 22, the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank, released an assessment of the campaign, saying Ukraine could attack about 16 percent of Russian ground forces if it was given permission to deploy the missiles within a certain range.

Kyiv first used the missiles in October to attack two Russian military bases in Ukraine, damaging numerous helicopters. The Kyiv military also used them against Russian targets in contested areas, including Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

In April, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said President Joe Biden had approved the deployment of a “significant number of ATACMS missiles” to Ukraine in February as part of a $300 million aid package.

The US has said Ukraine could use the weapons to attack Russian targets within a certain territory, but has imposed restrictions on long-range strikes across the border.

The ISW map showed that Ukraine could attack Russian targets – including Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod oblasts – which would reduce Russia’s land reserve by a maximum of 16 percent. However, it said it was unclear whether Ukrainian forces would have permission to do so.

“The West reserves the ability to disrupt Russian operations on a large scale by allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons to attack Russia’s operational areas in the hinterland and deep inland on Russian territory,” the IWS report said.

The report also says the US is preserving at least 84 percent of Russia’s ground clearance by not allowing Ukraine to strike certain targets within range of ATACMS, such as Voronezh and Rostov oblasts.

Newsweek has emailed the Defense Intelligence Service of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry for comment.

The ISW report also said that Russian air defenses would reduce the effectiveness of Ukrainian F-16 fighter jets if the US did not allow Ukrainian forces to destroy Russian air defense systems on Russian territory with ATACMS, because that would mean that Ukrainian F-16 pilots would have to operate in dangerous airspace.

Four countries – Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium – have committed to providing the aircraft to Ukraine to strengthen its fight against the superior Russian air force.

The think tank said: “ISW continues to believe that the US should allow Ukraine to attack all military targets in Russia’s operational and deep rear areas with US-supplied weapons.”