Air defenses have intercepted five US-made projectiles and damaged another, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said
The Ukrainian military has launched multiple US-made ATACMS missiles at Russia’s Bryansk Region, some of which have been intercepted, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.
US President Joe Biden reportedly authorized the use of American-supplied weapons for strikes deep inside Russia last week. Moscow had previously said that long-range strikes with Western weapons would constitute a direct war between NATO and Russia.
According to the statement, Kiev fired six long-range ballistic missiles identified as ATACMS early on Tuesday morning. Five of them were intercepted with S-400 and Pantsir air defense systems, while another was damaged and hit the ground at a Russian military site in Bryansk Region, causing a fire that was quickly dealt with. The Russian military claimed that no damage was caused by the incident.
Ukrainian media earlier reported that Kiev had fired ATACMS missiles into internationally recognized Russian territory for the first time during the conflict, releasing purported footage of the launch. The attack reportedly targeted an ammunition depot in Bryansk Region, though military officials in Kiev have not confirmed the claims.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the enactment of the country’s new nuclear doctrine. The document says that an attack on Russia by a non-nuclear power backed by a nuclear one should be considered a joint attack by both.
In September, Putin warned that long-range attacks by Ukraine using Western weapons would be a serious escalation of the conflict. Kiev cannot launch such attacks without direct input from NATO member states, he noted.
Bryansk Region is located in western Russia and borders Ukraine and Belarus, which is a Russian ally.
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