For the first time since US President Joe Biden’s authorization, the Ukrainian military has used US long-range ATACMS missiles for an attack inside Russia, according to RBC Ukraine.
The reported attack comes two days after Biden authorized the usage of long-range US weapons for strikes inside Russia.
Ad per details, Ukraine’s armed forces have carried out a strike in the border region within the Russian territory with an ATACMS missile, as per a report from Bloomberg News on November 19, citing the website RBC-Ukraine.
For months, Biden had refused to allow Ukraine such strikes over concerns of escalation, but Russia roping in as many as 10,000 North Korean soldiers changed Biden’s mind, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Biden authorized Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to use American-made missiles with a range of about 190 miles, known as ATACMS, to strike deeper inside Russian territory than the Ukrainians have to date.
So far, Ukraine’s attacks beyond the immediate border region inside Russia have been limited to non-U.S. — and much less potent— weapons such as explosive drones. ATACMS are far more destructive and harder to shoot down as they head for their programmed targets.
The Ukrainian news report has cited an unnamed military official who said that an Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS (pronounced ‘attack ’ems’) was deployed for the strike by the Ukrainian Defense Forces, and the target has been ‘successfully hit’.
The strike was on a military facility near Karachev city in the Bryansk region of Russia, 130km from the Ukrainian border, according to the news report. It is possible that the ATACMS missile strike on Russia could be aimed a military equipment, logistics, or ammunition depot, in order to thwart any potential Russian offensive.
Just days ago, Russia had struck Kyiv with a missile and drone attack, the first in 73 days, on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said.
