Moscow/Kyiv, Nov 19 (EFE).– Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed Ukraine’s first strike using US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles on Tuesday, marking a significant escalation in the conflict.
One missile hit a military facility in the Bryansk region, causing no reported damage or injuries.
According to a war report from local agencies, five missiles were intercepted, while a sixth struck the military facility in the border region.
Earlier, Ukraine’s Armed Forces announced the attack, claiming to have targeted the arsenal of the 1046th Logistics Center outside Karachev in Bryansk.
The Ukrainian General Staff shared the news in a Facebook post, reporting that by 2:30 a.m. the site had experienced 12 secondary explosions and a detonation.
“The destruction of ammunition depots for Russian occupiers to halt their armed aggression against Ukraine will continue.”
Kyiv-based digital newspaper RBK, citing unnamed sources, confirmed that this was Ukraine’s first use of ATACMS missiles against Russian territory.
“For the first time, we have used ATACMS ballistic missiles to strike Russian territory,” the newspaper quoted a source as saying, adding that the target had been successfully hit.
The attack follows reports that the US had recently authorized Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles against specific military targets within Russian borders.
This approval, according to US media outlets, was limited to strikes in the Kursk region, where Russia has deployed North Korean troops to reinforce its forces.
The Bryansk region, where the military arsenal was targeted, lies north of Kursk.
Andriy Kovalenko, a member of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said the Bryansk arsenal housed artillery ammunition, guided bombs, anti-aircraft missiles, and rockets.
Ukraine had long lobbied for permission to strike Russian military targets with Western-supplied long-range missiles, but Western allies had previously denied the request, citing concerns over escalating tensions with Moscow.
Russia has warned that it would consider any such strike an act of NATO’s involvement in the war. EFE
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