Russia said on Tuesday that Ukraine had fired six U.S.-made ATACMS long-range missiles into its western Bryansk region.
Ukraine did not immediately confirm the use of the ATACMS, which would be the first since U.S. President Joe Biden gave the green light for Kyiv to fire them into Russia after
months of lobbying from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“Last night at 3.25 (0025 GMT) the enemy struck a facility in the Bryansk region with six ballistic missiles. According to confirmed data, American-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles were used,” the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
It said Russian air defences shot down five missiles and damaged one, whose fragments fell on a military facility.
The ministry said this caused a fire that was quickly extinguished, and there were no casualties or damage. Reuters could not independently confirm details of the incident.
The attack by Ukraine comes at a time when Russian forces are probing Kyiv’s defences in the east while shelling its cities with drones and missile strikes. Many of the recent strikes have targeted Ukraine’s power grid, the aim being to disable it and weaponise the coming winter against the population.
There is a view in Ukraine and outside that the delivery of the missiles should have been made much earlier, and US President Biden held back fearing escalation by the Russians.
Russia has said the U.S. decision to approve such attacks was reckless and will prompt it to respond.
President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday approved an updated nuclear doctrine lowering the threshold that would prompt Russia to consider using nuclear weapons.
The new policy says any conventional assault on Russia by a non-nuclear power supported by a nuclear power will be considered to be a joint attack.
Any mass aerospace attack with aircraft, cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft that crossed Russia’s borders could also trigger a nuclear response, it says.
With Reuters inputs
