By Christian Edwards and Kostyantyn Gak, CNN
Ukraine has fired US-made ATACMS missiles into Russia’s Bryansk region, Russia’s Defense Ministry said, after the Biden administration gave Kyiv the green light to use the longer-range weapons against targets inside Russia.
At 3:25 a.m. local time (7:25 p.m. ET), Ukraine fired six ballistic missiles at a facility in Bryansk, the ministry said.
“According to confirmed information, American-made ATAMCS. operational-tactical missiles were used,” it said.
Russian air defenses shot down five of the missiles and another was damaged. Fragments from the damaged missile fell on the territory of a military facility, causing a fire that has since been extinguished. There were no casualties or damage.
The attack would mark the first time Ukraine has used the longer-range American weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia. Kyiv has not immediately responded to the report.
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use longer-range American missiles inside Russia, ending a months-long prohibition aiming to help Ukraine defend itself while not drastically escalating the conflict.
The decision came at a crucial moment in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now 1,000 days old. Russia is probing on the frontlines in Ukraine’s east while pummeling its cities with missile and drone strikes, aiming to disable Ukraine’s power grid and weaponize the freezing temperatures for a third consecutive winter.
Meanwhile, thousands of North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops launched a daring counteroffensive in the summer.