Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday that Russian forces had taken control of the village of Nadiya in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region and had shot down eight U.S.-made ATACMS missiles.
Reuters could not immediately verify the battlefield reports.
The ministry said its air defence systems had shot down 10 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory on Saturday morning, including three over the northern Leningrad region.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden had previously authorized Kyiv to use long-range weapons against Russia, a decision the Kremlin condemned as a severe escalation of the nearly three-year conflict.
“On January 3, an attempt was made from Ukrainian territory to launch a missile strike against the Belgorod region using US-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles,” the Russian defence ministry stated. “These actions by the Kyiv regime, which is supported by Western curators, will be met with retaliation,” it added, noting that all the missiles were intercepted.
Putin’s Threat
The ministry reported earlier that air defences had shot down eight ATACMS missiles but did not specify when or where this occurred. Russian President Vladimir Putin had threatened last year to target central Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile if Ukraine continued using long-range Western weapons against Russian territory.
US President-elect Donald Trump recently expressed strong opposition to Ukraine’s use of such arms, calling them an “escalation” of the conflict during an interview last month.
Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of civilian fatalities since the start of the year. Earlier today, a Russian strike in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region killed a 74-year-old man, according to regional governor Oleg Synegubov. Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry announced the capture of the Ukrainian village of Nadiia, one of the few remaining settlements in the eastern Lugansk region under Kyiv’s control.
An AFP analysis reported that Moscow advanced nearly 4,000 square kilometres in Ukraine during 2024, as Kyiv’s forces struggled with ongoing manpower shortages and fatigue.
(with inputs from Reuters)
