The US secretly sent Ukraine long-range missiles in February ahead of the new $61bn aid package on April 20 that Kyiv used for the first time this week. Included in the new aid package, that includes $20bn earmarked for weapons purchases, is an assignment of the advanced Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) capable of striking targets up to 300km away. ‘I can confirm that the United States provided Ukraine with long-range ATACMS at the president’s direct direction,’ state department spokesman Vedant Patel said, adding Washington, ‘did not announce this at the onset in order to maintain opera…