Moscow has accused Ukraine of having fired six medium-range American Atacms missiles on the night of Monday to Tuesday, November 19, against a military site in the Russian border region of Bryansk.
According to Moscow, Ukraine fired six American Atacms medium-range missiles on the night of Monday to Tuesday, November 19, against a military site in the Russian border region of Bryansk. This would be their first use by Kyiv after President Joe Biden authorized the Ukrainian army on Sunday, November 17, to use these weapons to strike Russian soil.
“At 3:25 a.m., the enemy struck a site in the Bryansk region” with “Atacms tactical missiles”, according to a press release from the Ministry of Defense, which ensures that five missiles were destroyed and another was damaged by Russian anti-aircraft defense. “Its fragments fell on the technical area of a military site in the Bryansk region, causing a fire which was quickly brought under control,” according to the ministry. These strikes did not cause any casualties.
According to Andri Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's counter-disinformation service, the targeted weapons stockpile contained guided aerial bombs, anti-aircraft defense missiles and MLRS, artillery ammunition, including Korean shells. from the North. The arsenal “had already been attacked by drones earlier”, underlined Andri Kovalenko on Telegram. Without confirming that these were indeed Atacms missiles which were used.
This announcement comes shortly after the signing by Russian President Vladimir Putin of a decree expanding the possibilities of using nuclear weapons, including, in particular, “among the conditions justifying the use of nuclear weapons […]the launch of ballistic missiles against Russia».
Long requested by Kyiv from its Western allies, the green light for the use of American missiles in Russian territory is a serious boost given to Ukrainian forces. In August, Russia claimed to have destroyed twelve Atacms missiles targeting the annexed Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula that Moscow considers an integral part of its territory.
