Russia’s military vowed Tuesday to respond to new Ukrainian airstrikes against Russian territory allegedly carried out with U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles, coming a week after the White House gave Kyiv permission to use the weapons on targets inside Russia.
“Retaliatory actions are being prepared,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that accused Ukraine of launching ATACMS strikes on Saturday and Monday, targeting military sites in the southwestern Kursk region.
The first strike on the Vostochny airbase injured two servicemen, the ministry said, while the second damaged a radar system and resulted in additional injuries.
It claimed air defenses intercepted most of the missiles, shooting down three of five in the first strike and seven of eight in the second. The military released photos of what it described as missile fragments bearing English-language markings.
The strikes come days after President Vladimir Putin signed a decree lowering the threshold for Moscow’s nuclear weapon use and ordered the launch of an experimental hypersonic missile at Ukraine.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned the U.S. decision to supply Kyiv with ATACMS, calling it a provocation that risks further escalation in the war.
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