Ukraine has used US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory, taking advantage of newly granted permission from the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden on the war’s 1,000th day.
Russia said its forces shot down five of six missiles fired at a military facility in the Bryansk region.
Debris of one missile hit the facility, starting a fire that was swiftly put out and caused no casualties or damage, it said.
Ukraine said it struck a Russian arms depot about 110km inside Russia, an attack that caused secondary explosions.
Ukraine’s military did not publicly specify the weapons used, but a Ukrainian government source and a US official confirmed it had used ATACMS.
A US official said Russia intercepted two of eight missiles and that the strike was at an ammunition supply point.
President Biden gave approval this week for Ukraine to use ATACMS, the longest-range missiles the United States has supplied, for such attacks inside Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the use of ATACMS was a clear signal the West wanted to escalate the conflict.
Russia has said such weapons cannot be used without direct American operational support and their use would make the US a direct combatant in the war, prompting Russian retaliation.
The attack took place as Ukraine marked 1,000 days of war, with a fifth of its territory in Russian possession and doubts about the future of Western support as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.
At the United Nations in New York, Ukraine’s UN ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya read a statement from his country, 42 others and the European Union rejecting Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of Ukrainian territory and demanding immediate withdrawal.
“One thousand days is a tragic reminder of the need to remain resolute in ensuring … that international law prevails, not just in Ukraine, but wherever it is challenged,” he said.
