Ukraine Fires US-Made Long-Range Missiles Into Russian Territory
Russia’s Defense Ministry has said that Ukraine launched United States-made ATACMS missiles into Russia’s Bryansk region.
The strike comes after the US President Joe Biden administration gave Kyiv approval to use the longer-range weapons against targets inside Russian territory, CNN reports.
The ministry said that at 3:25 a.m. local time (7:25 p.m. ET), Ukraine fired six ballistic long-range missiles at a facility in Bryansk, confirming that American-made ATACMS missiles were used in the attack.
Russian air defences reportedly intercepted five of the missiles, while a sixth was damaged.
Fragments from the damaged missile fell on a military facility, sparking a fire that was later extinguished.
However, no casualties or significant damage were reported.
The attack marked the first instance of Ukraine using the ATACMS missiles to strike deep within Russian territory.
While Kyiv has not commented on the attack, the strike follows President Biden’s authorization on Sunday for Ukraine to use longer-range missiles within Russia.
The move ended a months-long restriction intended to prevent further escalation of the conflict, while still providing Ukraine with the means to defend itself.
The decision came at a critical point in the war, now in its 1,000th day, as Russia continues its offensive in eastern Ukraine and launches missile and drone strikes against Ukrainian cities, aiming to cripple the country’s power grid and leverage freezing winter conditions as a weapon.
Meanwhile, thousands of North Korean troops have reportedly been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, a site of a recent Ukrainian counteroffensive.
The decision to provide ATACMS missiles to Ukraine had been under debate in Washington for months, with some officials concerned about the potential for escalating the war, while others voiced worries about depleting US stockpiles of the weapon.
In response to the missile attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin updated Russia’s nuclear doctrine just two days after the Biden administration’s decision.
Under the revised doctrine, Moscow now considers any aggression from a non-nuclear state, if backed by a nuclear power, as a “joint attack” on Russia.
