Russia says downed 8 Ukrainian ATACMS long-range missiles, dozens of drones
- 4 January, 07:59
Moscow on Saturday said it shot eight Ukrainian Army Tactical Missile System, ATACMS, long-range missiles and 72 drones targeting five Russian regions on the night leading to January 4. The Defences Forcies did not specify whether there were any casualties or damage.
Russian Defence Ministry on the same day reported downing 16 Ukrainian drones over five Russian regions. Ten of these drones were shot over Bryansk, three over Smolensk and two over Lengingrad and Belgorod region, the ministry stated. Flights in St.Petersburg city were suspended for over two hours on Saturdsay due to drone attacks.
The US-made ATACMS missiles have a range of 300 kilometers and has been used by the Ukrainian army for over a year now. Initially, Washington banned the missile systems deployment in the attacks deep into Russia in order to avoid further escalation of the conflict.
US President Joe Biden supplied Ukraine with ATACMS missiles last year following Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops in its territory, in a move that was viewed as escalation of the war. Ukraine struck Russia’s Bryansk region with ATACMS in November, marking the first use of long-range missiles in Russian territory, and following Biden’s authorization of the use of such weapons deep into Russian territory. Russia responded by attacking with hypersonic ballistic missile and threatened to launch strikes on capital Kyiv.
