Russia has made a rare admission, saying that a vital air defense system and an air base in the Kursk region were attacked by Ukraine with Atacms missiles supplied by the United States.
A Defense Ministry statement threatening retaliation was released a day later. Ukraine claimed to have attacked targets in the area.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched a record 188 drones in an attack on Monday evening, damaging critical infrastructure.
Tensions have been high since the US reportedly allowed Ukraine to use Atacms missiles on targets inside Russian territory last week, in response to Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops.
The week culminated with Russia’s use Powerful new mid-range Oreshnik Ballistic missiles hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
Atacms’ first reported attack on Russian territory was reported on TuesdayWhen Russia said falling debris caused a fire at a military facility.
But Monday’s attack on the S-400 air defense missile battalion at Lotarevka northwest of Kursk on Saturday could be considered more serious. The S-400 is considered Russia’s closest equivalent to the US Patriot missile system.
The Ministry of Defense said 3 out of 5 Atacms missiles were shot down but 2 missiles hit the target, damaging the radar system and causing casualties.
It also said Monday’s second attack on Khalino air base (Kursk East) caused “negligible damage” after one of eight missiles fired by Ukraine bypassed air defense systems.
“The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is controlling the situation and retaliatory measures are being prepared,” the statement added.
It shared photos of what it said was debris from the air base attack.
Russian military bloggers reported on the Khalino attack on Monday.
Additionally, footage posted to social media on Monday – capturing bright flashes of light in the sky above the border area – shows the moment the Atacms missile was intercepted by Russian air defenses elsewhere in the zone. Kursk region.
BBC Verify confirmed that the footage was genuine and was filmed in the city of Kursk, but could not confirm whether a US-supplied missile was the source of the flash.
The country’s air force said Tuesday that a record 188 drones and four Iskander missiles attacked Ukraine overnight.
They said 76 of them were shot down while another 95 were “lost trace”, while critical infrastructure and residential buildings were also attacked.
The governor of this region said about 70% of the power in the western Ternopil area had been cut.
Meanwhile, Russian exile investigative news website Agentstvo claims Ukraine is now losing territory at the fastest rate since the early days of the full-scale invasion.
However, Russia’s gains in eastern Ukraine remain extremely slow compared to the rapid advances in February and March 2022, when its forces approached the capital Kyiv.
