Ukrainian forces have for the very first time utilized U.S.-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles to strike a target inside Russia, Russias Defense Ministry saidin a statement on Tuesday.The statement, which Ukraine has actually not yet verified, comes just days after U.S.
media reported that the White House authorized Kyiv to utilize ATACMS to strike at targets inside Russias borders.
Overnight, at 03:25 a.m.
Moscow time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck a facility in the Bryansk region with six ATACMS ballistic missiles, the Defense Ministry said.The ministry said its air defense systems intercepted five of the ATACMS missiles, while one was damaged.
Missile fragments fell on the technical location of a military facility and started a fire.
The fire has currently been extinguished, the ministry stated.
Itdid not report any casualties or property damage.Earlier on Tuesday, the RBC Ukraine news website, mentioning a confidential source in the Ukrainian military, reportedthat Kyiv used ATACMS to target a facilityin the Bryansk area town of Karachev.Unverified videos published on social media purportedly revealed the aftermath of that attack, with a large fireball seen lighting up the night sky in the distance.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov latersaidat the G20 summit in Rio, Brazil that the attack on Bryansk signified the West was aiming to intensify the war in Ukraine, which struck its 1,000-day mark on Tuesday.
The fact that ATACMS was utilized consistently in the Bryansk area last night is, obviously, a signal that they [in the West] desire escalation.And without the Americans, it is impossible to use these high-tech missiles, Lavrov said.According to U.S.
media reports, the White House has actually limited Kyivs use of ATACMS missiles to safeguarding Ukrainian soldiers in Russias Kursk region, where Moscow is reportedly mounting a counteroffensive with North Korean troops.