Kremlin Promises Response to Ukraine’s Use of ATACMS
An Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, is shown in a U.S. military photo. The Kremlin vowed a “response” on Saturday after accusing Ukraine of using the American-supplied weapons to strike inside Russia’s Belgorod region. File Photo courtesy of U.S. Army
The Russian Ministry of Defense said a Ukrainian attack using the U.S.-supplied long-range tactical missiles came on Friday in the Belgorad Oblast, located about 25 miles north of the border with Ukraine.
Russia Claims Successful Interception of ATACMS Missiles
“During the anti-missile battle, all ATACMS missiles were shot down by combat crews of the S-400 air defense missile system and the Pantsir-SM air defense missile and gun system,” the Russian military said on its Telegram channel.
“These actions by the Kyiv regime, supported by Western curators, will be met with retaliatory measures,” it added.
That post followed an earlier one from the Russian MOD saying eight ATACMS had been shot down without specifying their origin.
The Belgorod region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, wrote on Telegram that air defense systems were activated in the Prokhorovsky district late Friday and that “several air targets were shot down.”
A man was injured In the village of Prelestnoye during the attack while infrastructure in the region was also damaged, he said.
Biden Authorizes ATACMS for Ukraine Amid Russian Retaliation Threats
U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Ukrainian forces to use the controversial ATACMS missiles against targets inside Russia in November, and since then Russia has promised several times to retaliate against their use.
Days after Biden’s authorization, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he had approved the use of an experimental Oreshnik hypersonic missile against a Ukrainian aerospace plant, claiming it was in response to Kyiv’s firing of U.S.- and British-made long-range weapons.
On Dec. 12, Russia similarly threatened a unspecified response after Ukraine struck the Taganrog military airfield in the Sea of Azov with six American-made ATACMS ballistic missiles.
