Russia assured on Saturday that it had shot down four ATACMS missiles during the night, long-range weapons recently supplied to Ukraine by the United States, over the annexed Crimean peninsula.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that it had “foiled” a Ukrainian night attack by “ATACMS missiles”.
“Air defense shot down four tactical operational missiles over the territory of the Crimean peninsula,” which Russia annexed in 2014, he added.
Russia has not indicated whether these missiles or the falling debris from them caused any damage.
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In April, Washington announced that it had sent these missiles to Ukraine, which had long requested them in order to be able to strike further behind the front line.
Ukraine used American ATACMS missiles against Russia for the first time in October, but those sent recently have a longer range, reaching a distance of up to 300 km.
Ukraine was seeking to obtain them in order to strike Russian supply routes, warehouses or military HQs further away from the front line.
The Kremlin, however, assured that this new delivery would not change anything in the conflict.
