Russia on Wednesday promised “a response” to the new Ukrainian attack carried out in the morning, according to Moscow, with American ATACMS missiles against a military airfield in the south of the country. A line proclaimed red by Moscow.
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Recently, in response to similar strikes, Vladimir Putin threatened to bomb decision-making centers in kyiv with his experimental Orechnik hypersonic missile, which can carry a nuclear charge, and Western countries that help Ukraine attack Russian territory.
A senior American official warned on Wednesday, on condition of anonymity, that Moscow could strike Ukraine with an Orechnik missile “in the coming days.”
After obtaining the green light from Washington and London in November to attack Russia with American ATACMS and British Storm Shadow long-range missiles, kyiv has since carried out strikes on Russian soil using these precise weapons, which each time angered Moscow.
“Slaughtered” or “diverted”
Despite threats from Vladimir Putin, these strikes continued in Russia on Wednesday, according to Moscow.
In a statement, the Russian army said that “six American-made ATACMS ballistic missiles” had been used to attack the Taganrog military airfield in the Rostov region (southwest) on Wednesday morning.
Two of them were “shot down” and “the others (…) hijacked by electronic warfare equipment,” assured the Russian army. The falling debris “injured personnel” at the military site and two buildings were notably “damaged”, without further details.
The Ukrainian authorities, for the moment, have not claimed responsibility or commented on this alleged attack.
Disrupt Russian logistics
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian Telegram channels published alleged videos of the attack on Taganrog in which serial explosions can be heard.
The governor of the Rostov region, Yuri Slioussar, for his part spoke of “a missile attack” in the night on Taganrog, while the municipality reported a heating cut in around thirty residential buildings.
In response to daily Russian bombings on its infrastructure and cities, Ukraine has increased attacks against military and energy sites in Russia, in order to disrupt the logistics of Moscow’s army which still occupies nearly 20% of Ukrainian territory. .
“Massive fire” at an oil terminal
Its army said on Wednesday that it had struck an oil terminal in the Russian region of Bryansk (west) overnight, causing “a massive fire” in this site “actively used to supply” Russian troops.
Faced with kyiv’s strikes, Russia fired an Orechnik missile against a Ukrainian city on November 21, a warning signal to Westerners according to the Kremlin and an escalation of tensions unprecedented in nearly three years of high-intensity conflict.
This hitherto unknown weapon can strike anywhere in Europe and could target the American west coast according to its characteristics praised by the Russian president, who however swore that he would warn in the future before launching his Orechnik.
Moscow claims the capture of 2 villages
On the ground, Russian forces have the advantage in eastern Ukraine, advancing towards the towns of Pokrovsk and Kurakhové. In Russia’s Kursk region, where kyiv’s army has controlled hundreds of square kilometers since August, Kremlin troops said Wednesday they had recaptured two villages.
Each camp seems to want to do everything to improve its position on the battlefield as much as possible, at a time when rumors are swirling about possible peace negotiations in 2025, after the arrival of Donald Trump at the White House.
“To the detriment of unity”
In the meantime, Europeans are trying to put together a united front to help Ukraine obtain the “just” peace it seeks in the face of a determined Russia.
Aside from the recent call between Vladimir Putin and Olaf Scholz, only Viktor Orban, the Hungarian Prime Minister and the Kremlin’s main ally in the EU, continues to maintain frequent contact with the Russian leader.
On Wednesday, the Hungarian and the Russian called each other again, provoking the anger of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: “No one should promote their own image to the detriment of unity,” he lambasted on Telegram.
“There cannot be discussions on the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine, without Ukraine,” he insisted.
Vladimir Putin still demands the surrender of Ukraine, its renunciation of joining NATO and control of the Ukrainian territories annexed by Moscow. Unacceptable conditions for kyiv and its Western allies.
