Russia has claimed to have destroyed several Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) launchers just days after the US approved Ukraine’s use of US-made long-range missiles to attack targets inside Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense (RuMoD) said in a statement that five Western-made launchers used for firing ATACMS long-range missiles were destroyed by Russian Iskander ballistic missiles, state-owned TASS News Agency reported.
“On November 25, Iskander ballistic missiles hit five multiple rocket launchers in the Sumy Region, which were used for firing ATACMS long-range missiles. In particular, two MLRS launchers and a transporter-loader vehicle were destroyed near the settlement of Tokari (eight kilometers northwest of the city of Sumy), and three HIMARS launchers were taken out near the settlement of Maly Bobrik (20 kilometers southeast of Sumy),” read the RuMoD statement.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has yet to take cognizance of the claims at the time of writing this report. However, several pro-Ukraine military bloggers mocked the Russian claims on social media, with some pointing out that Moscow has made similar claims several times in the past, albeit with no element of truth in them. The alleged destruction of the launchers could not be independently verified.
Nevertheless, according to RuMoD’s claims, the launchers were annihilated on the same day Ukraine used the ATCAMS to target the Russian Khalino military airfield, located approximately 96 Kilometers (60 miles) from the Russian border, for the first time. Russian military bloggers, including pro-Kremlin figure Ilya Tumanov, confirmed the missile attack, noting that the airfield’s defenses intercepted seven of the eight missiles launched. An ATACMS also eliminated a Russian S-40092N6 radar.
Moreover, the latest Russian announcement comes amid fears of escalation triggered by the authorization of long-range weapons for use against Russia—an obvious red line for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Though the West sat on Ukraine’s request for authorizing long-range attacks using weapons supplied by it for several months, the restriction was lifted on November 17 by the outgoing US President Joe Biden. The UK and France also approved long-range strikes using their respective missiles supplied to Kyiv.
The move triggered a fierce response from Russia. Not only did Moscow revise the country’s nuclear doctrine, it also launched a medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile called ‘Oreshnik’ on Ukrainian city Dnipro last week, marking the first time that such a weapon was used in combat.
In addition to that, Russia had also intensified attacks on Ukraine, bombarding the country’s energy infrastructure and plunging its cities into darkness once again in what appears to be an effort to repeat the 2022 winter rampage when most of Ukraine’s power grids were attacked, and the country saw unprecedented power cuts.
Russia Has Unleashed Hell On Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated during his visit to Astana that the use of Western-made weapons in strikes on Russian territory indicates that the West is directly involved in the crisis in Ukraine. Putin stated that after the Oreshnik missile was used, Russia was assaulted twice with ATACMS missiles and that Russia would retaliate for the aggression.
In response to Kyiv’s attacks deep within Russian territory, the Russian Armed Forces launched 100 missiles and 466 Geran-2 drones in recent days, striking 17 important Ukrainian military-industrial targets, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
According to a brief released by the RuMoD, in addition to the five ATACMS launchers, Iskander missiles destroyed a launcher and a loading vehicle for the Neptune anti-ship system on November 25 and 26, along with two launchers fitted with Grom-2 experimental ballistic missiles.
Additionally, it stated that on November 25, up to 40 foreign specialists, mostly from the United States, were killed in the attack on the “Kraken” Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) headquarters in Kharkiv.
On November 28, Russian forces launched a coordinated attack on Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and energy infrastructure. This was the second-biggest attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this month, causing widespread power outages nationwide.
Ukrenergo, the state-owned electricity transmission system operator, reported that energy infrastructure facilities were damaged in several regions. Emergency blackouts were implemented, later replaced by rolling blackouts that occurred every hour. Ukrenergo subsequently implemented 16-hour blackouts, which substantially reduced energy usage for Ukrainians. The company later noted that power limitations will remain in effect all day on November 29.
Some reports published in Ukrainian and Western media alleged Russia used 97 drones and 91 missiles in the attack on November 28.
The Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement, “The enemy is using a large number of missiles and drones. Their massive use in certain areas often exceeds the number of means of (air defense) cover.” The service also noted that Russia was equipping its missiles with electronic warfare gear and employing thermal and radar decoys to fool Ukrainian air defenses.
“All this significantly complicates the operation of Soviet-made anti-aircraft missile systems … Western systems work much more effectively in such conditions, but Ukraine does not have enough to reliably cover hundreds of critical infrastructure facilities,” it said.
In addition to the aerial raids, Russian ground forces are advancing at their fastest pace since the early days of the invasion in February 2022.
In response to these attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of “despicable escalation” and alleged that the Russian forces unleashed cruise missiles with cluster munitions. Zelenskiy stated in his nightly video address that he was addressing Western leaders, such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, to develop a response to “Russia’s attempt to make the situation more unbearable and drag out the war.”
He exhorted the leaders, saying, ”Now is the time to strengthen our positions—the positions of Ukraine and our partners.”
- Contact the author at sakshi.tiwari9555 (at) gmail.com
- Follow EurAsian Times on Google News
