Moscow says it shot down eight “ballistic missiles” fired by kyiv

Moscow says it has shot down eight ballistic missiles.

Photo: KEYSTONE/AP

The Russian army claimed Monday to have shot down eight ballistic missiles coming from Ukraine, without specifying which projectiles they were, as well as American-made aerial bombs. In the midst of the escalation of the conflict, Moscow threatens to strike the West.

Russia struck Ukraine last week with a latest generation intermediate-range ballistic missile without nuclear warhead, and promised to increase this type of attacks if kyiv continued to use Western missiles to target Russian territory.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also threatened to strike countries supplying such weapons to the Ukrainians, saying the conflict had taken on a ‘global character’. Various Russian officials, including the president, have also discussed the possible use of nuclear weapons.

‘Air defense downed eight ballistic missiles, six American-made JDAM guided aerial bombs as well as 45 drones,’ said the Russian Defense Ministry, which provided no details on the type of missiles or the targets.

For its part, Ukraine said on Monday morning that it had struck several military targets on Russian territory, without specifying what weapons had been used.

A civilian was killed in the Russian region of Belgorod, according to authorities, in a Ukrainian drone attack.

Ukrainian explosive drones also struck a fuel depot in the Russian region of Kaluga overnight, according to a source within Ukrainian military intelligence, while new Russian attacks left dozens injured in the city centers of Kharkiv (northeast) and Odessa (southwest) in Ukraine.

/ATS