The US secretly sent long-range robots

Ukraine has shelled Russian targets on occupied Ukrainian soil with US long-range drones that were delivered secretly, two sources told the AP news agency.

The US State Department confirms that the country sent the robots.

The robots are said to have struck a Russian military air base in Crimea and against Russian forces in another occupied part of the country.

It is the long-range model of the Atacms ballistic robot coveted by Ukraine, with a range of 300 kilometers, that the United States sent.

Ukraine has been provided with the robots on the president’s directive, according to State Department spokesman Vedant Patel.

The robots were sent for use within the territory of Ukraine, and arrived in Ukraine in April, according to the department.

Ukraine previously had access to an older model of Atacams, with a shorter range, according to media reports from October.

One of AP’s two government sources says more such long-range robots are on the way as part of the new US aid package hammered out in Congress and signed by President Joe Biden.

The US has previously hesitated to deliver longer-range weapons, fearing escalation.