Kremlin threatens revenge

Ukraine is already attacking with ATACMS missiles

A total of six ATACMS missiles are said to have been fired.

(Bild: AFP)

Following the lifting of restrictions on the ATACMS system, the Ukrainian army has already carried out its first attacks with the US missiles on targets in Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov threatened the West with an "appropriate" response. 

"If longer-range missiles are deployed from Ukraine towards Russian territory, this means that they will be operated by US military experts," Lavrov told journalists in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday after the G20 summit. He added: "We will see this as a new phase of the Western war against Russia and react accordingly." It was a "sign" from Ukraine and its Western allies that they were seeking an escalation. Lavrov also told Ukraine's Western allies that they should read the Russian nuclear doctrine "in full".

EU condemns threat of nuclear weapons
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the threat "irresponsible". The EU condemns any threat with nuclear weapons, he said after a meeting of defense ministers in Brussels. It is not the first time that Russian head of state Vladimir Putin has wanted to create uncertainty, emphasized Borrell.

The Russian Ministry of Defense had previously stated that on Tuesday night, Kiev had attacked a military facility in the border region of Bryansk with six ballistic missiles, including long-range ATACMS missiles supplied by the USA. According to the ministry, five of the missiles were shot down by Russian air defenses. Debris from a sixth missile fell on an unspecified "military facility" and caused a small fire. There were no casualties or damage.

First Ukrainian attack with longer-range weapons
This is the first attack since US President Joe Biden approved the deployment of US ATACMS missiles by Ukraine. Kiev had been demanding the green light from Washington for months for the deployment of the longer-range ATACMS missiles against targets in the Russian hinterland.

The Russian agency RIA Novosti reported on its homepage: "At 3:25 a.m. tonight, the enemy attacked a facility on the territory of the Bryansk region with six ballistic missiles." The Russian agencies TASS and Interfax also reported on the attack, also referring to the Russian Ministry of Defense in Moscow. For the Kremlin, this attack on the 1000th day of the war represents a "significant escalation", they added. There was also talk of explosions near Karachev on a Russian military blog and on unofficial telegram channels. The city is around 115 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

Kiev had previously reported that a Russian weapons depot near Karachev in the Bryansk region had been attacked. This was reported by Bloomberg and Reuters, referring to the Ukrainian General Staff. Two Ukrainian media outlets reported that it was a first strike using ATACMS missiles supplied by the USA. The portal RBK-Ukraina quoted an army source as saying: "The object was successfully destroyed."

The Telegram channel Astra published videos of the attack:

To date, only HIMARS missile artillery allowed
According to media reports, the USA only recently allowed Ukraine to use the weapons with a range of up to 300 kilometers against targets in Russia. This is seen as a response to the suspected deployment of North Korean soldiers on Moscow's side. The Kremlin, on the other hand, sees the US weapons as an escalation and an involvement of the USA and other Western states in the war that has been going on for exactly 1,000 days.

Until now, Ukraine was only allowed to use HIMARS missile artillery from the USA against targets close to the Russian border in order to fend off the offensive against the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The decision by outgoing US President Joe Biden has angered the camp of his successor Donald Trump.

Two Ukrainian media outlets write of "first strike"
Kiev had previously reported that a Russian weapons depot near Karachev in the Bryansk region had been attacked. This was reported by Bloomberg and Reuters, referring to the Ukrainian General Staff. Two Ukrainian media outlets reported that it was a first strike using ATACMS missiles supplied by the USA. There was no official confirmation from Ukraine as to which weapon was used. The military's General Staff and military intelligence did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The RBK-Ukraine portal quoted an army source as saying: "The object has been successfully destroyed." However, this information could not be independently verified.

Ukraine wants to fend off attacks on energy supply
Ukraine wants to use the longer-range missiles to attack launching pads and production facilities on Russian territory in order to fend off attacks on the country's energy supply in particular as early as possible. According to reports, however, the release of the US weapons will only apply to the areas occupied by Ukraine in the Russian region of Kursk. Here, too, the Ukrainian armed forces are coming under increasing pressure. Ukraine wants to bring the occupied territory into negotiations in order to have the strongest possible position. However, such talks are not in sight.