Ukraine-Russia live: US-supplied long-range missiles ‘already hitting’ Putin’s forces

US-supplied long-range missiles used by Ukraine are “already hitting” Putin’s forces in Crimea under a secret deal secured by Biden earlier this year.

The Army Tactical Missile System, or Atacms, arrived in Ukraine last week under a secret deal agreed in March before the £76bn US security package was passed by congress on Wednesday.

US officials said the weapons had already been used to bomb a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Putin’s troops in another occupied area.

“We did not announce this at the onset in order to maintain operational security for Ukraine at their request,” a US state department spokesperson said.

Wednesday’s bill included £49bn in military aid for Ukraine, which the Pentagon says can start being delivered to the war-torn nation within days.

Meanwhile, the UK was accused of helping Moscow “pay for its war” in Ukraine by importing record amounts of refined oil from countries processing Russian fossil fuels.

British imports of refined oil from India, China and Turkey – which Russia exports crude oil to – amounted to £2.2bn in 2023, up from £434.2m in 2021, according to environmental news website Desmog.