Moscow said Tuesday that Ukraine fired six longer-range missiles supplied by the United States at Russia’s Bryansk area, marking Kyiv’s first use of the weapons within Russia in 1,000 days of war.
The reported use of the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin formally lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons, paving the way for Moscow to respond nuclearly to even a conventional attack by any nuclear-armed nation. This might involve Ukrainian assaults supported by the United States.
A Telegram group linked with the Ukrainian military broadcast a video on Tuesday claiming to show a US-supplied ATACMS missile being fired from an unidentified site in Ukraine. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify the video’s date and location.
The revelations represented a concerning new escalation in the conflict, which has frequently heightened international tensions. US officials recently expressed concern about Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops to assist it attack Ukraine, while Moscow reacted angrily when Washington lifted limits on the ATACMS in recent days.
The 1,000-day mark has increased scrutiny of how the conflict is progressing and how it might finish, with suggestions that a watershed moment may be on the horizon with US President-elect Donald Trump taking office in around two months. Trump has promised to terminate the war as soon as possible and has criticized the amount of money spent by the United States to support Ukraine.
Analysts believe that neither Russia nor Ukraine can prolong the conflict for an extended period of time, with Russia able to do so due to its greater resources.
Ukraine’s soldiers are under intense Russian pressure on the battlefield, particularly along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line where its army is stretched thin. Russian drones and rockets have regularly targeted Ukrainian civilians.
Ukraine said on Tuesday that it targeted a military weapons facility in Russia’s Bryansk area in the middle of the night, but did not specify what weapons were used. The Ukrainian General Staff reported hearing many explosions and detonations in the targeted area near Karachev.
According to a statement reported by Russian news outlets, the Russian Defense Ministry stated it shot down five ATACMS missiles and damaged one more. The debris landed on the grounds of an unnamed military facility, the ministry stated. The falling debris started a fire, but no one was injured or killed, according to the report.
Neither party’s statements could be independently verified.
Karachev is approximately 115 kilometers (70 miles) from the Russian-Ukrainian border. During the battle, Ukraine was able to penetrate far deeper into the enormous country, albeit with drones rather than missiles. For example, Russian officials have claimed detecting Ukrainian drones over Moscow, which is approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the border, and more recently Izhevsk, which is around 1,450 kilometers (900 miles) away.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials claimed a third Russian hit in as many days on a Ukrainian residential area, killing at least 12 people, including a toddler.
A Shahed drone strike in the northern Sumy area late Monday hit a dormitory of an educational facility in the town of Hlukhiv, injuring 11 people, including two children, according to authorities, who added that additional people could be trapped under the wreckage.
On Sunday, a Russian ballistic missile armed with cluster munitions targeted a Sumy residential area in northern Ukraine, killing 11 and injuring 84 others. On Monday, a Russian missile bombardment started apartment fires in the southern port of Odesa, killing at least ten people and injuring 43.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the succession of aerial strikes demonstrated Putin’s lack of interest in ending the war.
“Each fresh attack by Russia reveals Putin’s actual goals. He wants the fight to continue. Talks about peace do not interest him. Zelenskyy stated, “We must use force to bring Russia to a just peace.”
Zelenskyy told European Union parliamentarians in a video link address that Russia has stationed approximately 11,000 North Korean troops near Ukraine’s borders, with the number potentially increasing to 100,000.
He arrived in person in the Ukrainian parliament, where he presented a “resilience plan” to defend against Russia’s persistent attacks. He predicted crucial events in the fight next year.
The proposal proposes innovative ways to army management, such as the establishment of a military ombudsman role and a new system for managing military contracts.
Despite the fact that Ukraine is short-handed on the front lines, particularly in infantry, there are no plans to lower the mobilization age from its current 25.
According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine intends to produce at least 30,000 long-range drones and 3,000 long-range missiles next year in order to reduce its need on Western military help.
A more detailed version of the strategy will be revealed next month, he said.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Western countries are contemplating providing additional assistance to Ukraine — “more aid, more money we have to make available to them, particularly now that the North Koreans have come on board,” he said in Brussels.
Meanwhile, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola presided over a special plenary session on Ukraine, commemorating “a thousand days of terror, suffering, and unimaginable loss.” “One thousand days of bravery, resilience, and unbreakable spirit.”
“Your people are an inspiration to all those who value freedom around the world,” she said Zelenskyy.