Ukraine strikes Russian military site with US-made ATACMS missiles
MOSCOW – The Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that Ukraine attacked its Bryansk region with six US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles last night.
According to a ministry statement, Russian air defence systems intercepted five missiles, while a sixth was damaged and crashed into a military facility in the Bryansk region, igniting a fire that has since been extinguished without causing any casualties.
Earlier, Ukraine’s General Staff said it struck with ATACMS missiles a military warehouse in Russia’s Bryansk region, located about 115 kilometres (71 miles) from the border, targeting an ammunition depot of a logistics centre near the town of Karachev.
Brian Nichols, the US assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, confirmed on Tuesday media reports claiming President Joe Biden authorised Ukraine to use long-range American weapons deep into Russia.
On Monday, Germany confirmed that it will not provide long-range missiles to Ukraine, a stance that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov referred to as “a responsible position.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed on Tuesday a decree approving the Foundations of State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence, the country’s updated nuclear doctrine.
The updated doctrine outlines the threats that would make Russia, the world’s biggest nuclear power, resort to such weapons, which encompass any aggression against Russia’s territorial integrity or that of its allies through the use of conventional weapons.
