On Saturday, Russia said that Ukrainian forces fired more US-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) into Russian territory and vowed there would be a response.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukraine fired eight ATACMS into the Belgorod Oblast and that they were all downed by Russian air defenses. “The crews of the S-400 and Pantsir-SM air defense systems countered the attack and shot down all the ATACMS missiles,” the ministry said.
The ministry added that the Ukrainian attack, “which is supported by Western curators, will be met with retaliation.”
President Biden authorized Ukraine to use ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles for long-range strikes in Russian territory despite Moscow making clear the step would risk nuclear escalation. Since then, Ukraine has launched several rounds of attacks on Russian territory using the missiles, which require intelligence from NATO countries to be fired.
In response to the first round of ATACMS and Storm Shadows attacks, Russia test-fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile into Ukraine known as the Oreshnik. In December, after Ukraine fired more ATACMS into Russian territory, Russia launched a heavy bombardment of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, which Moscow said was a response to the US missiles.
Over the weekend, Ukraine also launched dozens of drones into Russia and started a new offensive in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. Ukrainian troops first entered Kursk in August, an invasion of Russia that was launched with US weapons and Western intelligence support.
