MOSCOW - The Kremlin said on Thursday that deliveries of U.S. long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine would not change the outcome of the war but would create more problems for Ukraine itself.

The United States in recent weeks secretly shipped long-range missiles to Ukraine, which has so far used them twice, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

The missiles were used for the first time on April 17 against a Russian airfield in Crimea that was about 165 km (103 miles) from the Ukrainian front lines, the official said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "The U.S. is directly involved in this conflict. They are following the path of increasing the operating range of the weapon systems they supply."

He added: "This will not fundamentally change the outcome of the special military operation. We will achieve our goal. But this will cause more problems for Ukraine itself."

Whether to send the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) with a range up to 300 km was a subject of debate within the Biden administration for months. Mid-range ATACMS were supplied last September.

  - Reuters