Outgoing US President Joe Biden has authorised Kyiv to make use of the long-range weapons in opposition to Russia.
Russia has pledged to retaliate after it claimed to have shot down eight US-supplied ATACMS missiles fired by Ukraine at its border area of Belgorod.
“On January 3, an try was produced from Ukrainian territory to launch a missile assault in opposition to the Belgorod area utilizing US-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles,” the Russian Ministry of Defence stated on Saturday.
“These actions by the Kyiv regime, which is supported by Western curators, might be met with retaliation,” it added, saying all of the missiles had been shot down.
The ministry stated earlier that air defences downed eight ATACMS missiles in complete, with out saying when or the place.
Officers in Ukraine haven’t but responded to the accusation.
The Military Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) has a variety of 300km (190 miles) and was first developed within the Nineteen Eighties.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden had authorised Kyiv to make use of long-range weapons in opposition to Russia final yr, in a transfer the Kremlin denounced as a grave escalation of the practically three-year battle. Biden is anticipated to announce extra safety help for Ukraine within the coming days, in accordance with White Home spokesperson John Kirby.
US President-elect Donald Trump stated in an interview final month he was “very vehemently” against Ukraine utilizing the arms, which he stated had been “escalating” the battle.
In addition to army help from the US, Kyiv can even reportedly obtain its first French Mirage 2000-5F multirole fighters this month, in accordance with French journal Avions Legendaires.
Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened final yr to strike central Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile if Ukraine continued hitting Russian territory with long-range Western weapons.
Each Kyiv and Moscow have accused one another of deadly assaults on civilians because the yr started.
A Russian assault on a village in Ukraine’s northeast Kharkiv area earlier on Saturday killed a 74-year-old man, regional Governor Oleg Synegubov stated.
At the very least three folks, together with two kids, had been wounded in a Russian assault on the Sumy area of northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, native authorities stated. Sumy borders Russia’s Kursk area and has been recurrently shelled by Russian forces for months.
Russian forces additionally launched assaults close to the Ukrainian metropolis of Pokrovsk in an effort to bypass it from the south and lower off provide routes to Ukraine’s troops, the Ukrainian army stated on Saturday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy famous that Russia had launched 300 assault drones and 20 missiles at Ukrainian targets within the first three days of 2025, however stated a big quantity was shot down by Kyiv’s forces.
“Such Russian terror, which continues with unrelenting depth, requires each us and all our companions to not scale back efforts in strengthening our air defence protect and all its systemic elements – from Patriot methods to cellular fireplace teams,” Zelenskyy stated on his social media platforms.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will embark on his remaining journey in workplace this weekend, travelling to South Korea, Japan, and France.
At conferences in Paris, he’s anticipated to debate European safety and Russia’s struggle in Ukraine with French officers, showcasing the Biden administration’s remaining outreach in direction of Kyiv earlier than the Trump authorities takes over.
