"Not intercepted"

ATACMS attack: Moscow confirms hit

One of the images published by the Russian Ministry of Defense of the debris of the ATACMS missiles(Bild: Instagram/MoD Russia)

The Russian Ministry of Defense has now confirmed that at least three ATACMS missiles fired by Ukraine in the past few days could not be intercepted. An S-400 air defense position and an airfield in the Kursk region were hit.

According to the report, the first attack was carried out on Saturday with five ATACMS missiles on a position of the S-400 air defense complex. Only three missiles were destroyed, two reached their target, injuring personnel and damaging a radar station, according to the ministry. In another attack on an airfield, seven of the eight ATACMS missiles were shot down. Two soldiers were injured and damage was caused to the infrastructure. It is extremely unusual for Moscow to admit to hits on its own military objects by Ukrainian attacks. 

Previously, there had been unconfirmed media reports of an attack by Kiev with ATACMS missiles on a military airfield near Kursk. The USA had recently granted Ukraine permission to fire ATACMS missiles at targets on Russian territory.

Further escalation: Putin threatens Ukraine's allies
In response, the Russian military deployed one of the latest medium-range ballistic missiles called "Oreshnik" on the city of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine. A military-industrial facility in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro was targeted, according to Russian media reports. Some military observers spoke in this context of a warning shot, but also of a possible dress rehearsal for a real nuclear strike.

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin also threatened Ukraine's Western allies. Following the latest ATACMS attacks, a response is "already being prepared", the Ministry of Defense in Moscow announced on Tuesday.