Russia has claimed to have destroyed several Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) launchers, days after the United States ordered Ukraine to use long-range missiles to target targets within Russian territory. The use of missiles was approved.

The Russian Ministry of Defense (RuMoD) said in a statement that five Western-made launchers used to fire ATACMS long-range missiles were destroyed by a Russian Iskander ballistic missile, the state-run TASS news agency reported. Reported.

“On November 25, Iskander ballistic missiles hit five multiple rocket launchers in the Sami region, which were used to fire ATACMS long-range missiles. Specifically, two MLRS launchers and one transporter-loader vehicle was destroyed near the settlement of Tukari (eight kilometers northwest of Somme city), and three HIMARS launchers were recovered near the settlement of Mali Bobrik (20 kilometers southeast of Somme). “Read the RuMoD statement.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has not yet taken note of these claims at the time of writing this report. However, several pro-Ukraine military bloggers took to social media to mock the Russian claims, with some pointing out that Moscow has made similar claims many times in the past, although there is no truth to them. The alleged destruction of the launchers could not be independently verified.

After all, according to RuMoD’s claim, the launchers were destroyed on the same day that Ukraine used the ATCAMS. targeting The Russian Khalino Military Airfield, for the first time, is located approximately 96 kilometers (60 mi) from the Russian border. Russian military bloggers, including pro-Kremlin figure Ilya Tamanov, confirmed the missile attack, noting that the airfield’s defenses intercepted seven of the eight missiles fired. An ATACMS also destroyed a Russian S-40092N6 radar.

Additionally, the latest Russian announcement comes amid fears of increased tensions stemming from the authorization of long-range weapons for use against Russia, a clear red line for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Although the West sat for months on a request to allow long-range strikes using weapons supplied by Ukraine, outgoing US President Joe Biden lifted the ban on November 17. Britain and France also approved long-range strikes using their respective missiles supplied to Kiev.

A strong reaction came from Russia on this move. Not only did Moscow revise the country’s nuclear doctrine, it also launched a medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile called Oryshnik over the Ukrainian city of Dnipro last week, marking the first time such a weapon has been used in combat. It happened.

In addition, Russia has also stepped up attacks on Ukraine, bombing the country’s energy infrastructure and blacking out its cities once again in an attempt to repeat the 2022 winter chaos. appears as when most of Ukraine’s power grids were attacked, and the country saw unprecedented power shortages.

Russia has unleashed hell on Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his visit to Astana that the use of Western-made weapons in attacks on Russian soil indicates that The West is directly involved in the Ukraine crisis. Putin said that Russia was attacked twice with ATACMS missiles after the use of the Oryshank missile and that Russia would respond to this aggression.

In response to Kiev’s attacks inside Russian territory, the Russian armed forces launched 100 missiles and 466 Jeran-2 drones in recent days, hitting 17 key Ukrainian military-industrial targets, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

In addition to five ATACMS launchers, Iskander missiles destroyed a launcher and a loading vehicle for the Neptune anti-ship system on November 25 and 26, along with Grom-2 experimental ballistics, according to a briefing issued by RuMoD. Equipped with two launchers. Missile

Additionally, it said that on November 25, up to 40 foreign experts, most of them from the United States, were killed in an attack on the “Kraken” Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) headquarters in Kharkiv. .

On November 28, Russian forces launched a coordinated attack on Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and energy infrastructure. It was the second major attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this month, causing widespread power outages across the country.

Ukrenergo, the operator of the state electricity transmission system, reported that energy infrastructure facilities were damaged in several regions. An emergency blackout was implemented, later replaced by hourly blackouts. Ukrenergo later implemented a 16-hour blackout, which significantly reduced energy consumption for Ukrainians. The company later noted that power restrictions would remain in effect all day on November 29.

Some reports in Ukraine and Western media have alleged that Russia used 97 drones and 91 missiles in the November 28 attack.

“The enemy is using a large number of missiles and drones. In some areas, their large-scale use often exceeds the number of resources of the (Air Defense) Corps,” the Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement. noted that Russia is equipping its missiles with electronic warfare gear and using thermal and radar decoys to fool Ukraine’s air defenses;

“All this significantly complicates the operation of Soviet-made anti-aircraft missile systems … Western systems work more effectively in such situations, but Ukraine does not have enough to cover hundreds of critical infrastructure facilities. can be reliably met,” he said.

In addition to airstrikes, Russian ground forces are advancing at their fastest pace since the early days of the February 2022 invasion.

In response to these attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi Accused Russia blamed the “despicable escalation” and alleged that Russian forces fired cruise missiles with cluster munitions. Zelensky said in his video address that night that he was speaking to Western leaders such as German Chancellor Olaf Schulz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to make the situation more intolerable on Russia’s part. And drag attempts can be responded to. out of war.”

“Now is the time to strengthen our position, the position of Ukraine and our partners,” he admonished the leaders.