Ukraine has fired US-made ATACMS missiles into Russia\u2019s Bryansk region, Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry said, in a major escalation on the 1,000th day of war. <\/p>\n
The attack comes just two days after the Biden administration gave Kyiv the green light to use the longer-range American weapons against targets inside Russia. <\/p>\n
Kyiv did not immediately respond to the report. The attack marks the first time Ukraine has used the longer-range American weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia, and show that Kyiv has wasted little time in making use of its newly-granted powers. <\/p>\n
At 3:25 a.m. local time (7:25 p.m. ET) Tuesday, Ukraine fired six ballistic missiles at a facility in Bryansk, the ministry said. It said that American-made ATACMS missiles had been used in the attack. <\/p>\n
Russian air defenses said they 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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
The decision came at a crucial moment in Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. Russia is probing on the frontlines in Ukraine\u2019s east while pummeling its cities with missile and drone strikes, aiming to disable Ukraine\u2019s power grid and weaponize the freezing temperatures for a third consecutive winter. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, thousands of North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia\u2019s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops launched a daring counteroffensive in the summer. <\/p>\n
In a press briefing Monday, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the involvement of North Korean troops in the war was \u201ca major escalation by Russia, bringing in an Asian military to a conflict inside Europe.\u201d <\/p>\n
The decision to allow the use of the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, inside Russia had been under consideration for months. American officials had been divided on the wisdom of allowing the new capability. Some had concerns about escalating the war, while others worried about dwindling stockpiles of the weapons. <\/p>\n
Although Kyiv has repeatedly used Ukrainian-made drones to hit targets in Russia \u2013 deeper into the country than Bryansk \u2013 Moscow has long maintained that using far-reaching Western weapons would constitute a major escalation. <\/p>\n
After the reported missile attack early Tuesday morning, President Vladimir Putin updated Russia\u2019s nuclear doctrine \u2013 just two days after Biden\u2019s green light. <\/p>\n
Under the updated doctrine, Moscow will consider aggression from any non-nuclear state \u2013 but with the participation of a nuclear country \u2013 a joint attack on Russia. <\/p>\n
However, in more than two-and-a-half years of war, Russia has often rattled the nuclear saber in response to perceived escalation by Ukraine and its allies. <\/p>\n
\ufeffAfter French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this year that he would not rule out sending European troops to Ukraine, Putin ordered a tactical nuclear weapons drill in response to what he called \u201cthreats\u201d by the West. <\/p>\n
For months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had argued that \u201clong-range capabilities for our army\u201d is a key part of his \u201cVictory Plan\u201d for winning the war. <\/p>\n
Responding on Sunday evening to reports of Biden\u2019s green-light, Zelensky said: \u201cStrikes are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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