Russian Defense Ministry confirms two Ukrainian ATACMS strikes on Kursk Region, promises “retaliatory measures”

Over the past three days, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) carried out two ATACMS missile strikes on targets in the Kursk Region, according to a statement released by the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) earlier today.

As per the report, on Nov. 23, five missiles targeted the position of a Russian S-400 air defense division near the village of Lotarevka, located 37 kilometers (23 miles) northwest of Kursk. Three missiles were reportedly intercepted by the “Pantsir” air defense system, while two hit their targets, damaging a Russian radar system and causing injuries to several soldiers.

The second strike, as per Russia’s MoD, occurred on Nov. 25 at the Kursk-Vostochny (lit. “Kursk-Eastern”) airfield, located in Khalino, approximately 96 kilometers (60 miles) from the Russian border. The attack involved eight missiles, seven of which were reportedly intercepted, while one hit its target. Two Russian servicemen sustained minor injuries and infrastructure sustained minor damage as a result of falling missile fragments

“An inspection of the attack sites has reliably confirmed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces used American-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles. The Russian Ministry of Defense is in control of the situation, and retaliatory measures are being prepared,” the statement said.

Russia’s MoD released photos of ATACMS missile fragments for the first time. Until now, images of debris and operational components of the missiles used in strikes on Russian-controlled territories have mostly appeared in unofficial sources.

On Nov. 24, the AFU’s General Staff reported the destruction of an S-400 radar system in the Kursk Region. The Russian pro-war channel Dossier Shpiona (lit “Spy Dossier”) claimed that, in addition to the radar, two missile launchers undergoing repairs were destroyed. Five military personnel, along with three specialists from the state-owned Almaz-Antey Corporation, were killed. According to the channel, the attack was carried out with three ATACMS missiles. However, in a similar but conflicting report, Russian publication Astra reported five missiles and the deaths of four Russian servicemen.

Nov. 25 saw reports of an ATACMS strike targeting an airfield in the Kursk Region.

Vladimir Putin previously announced the deployment of a new intermediate-range weapons system, dubbed “Oreshnik” (Russian for “hazel tree”), featuring a ballistic missile in a “non-nuclear hypersonic configuration.” Putin claimed the first “field test” of the missile was completed on Nov. 21, referring to a strike on Ukraine’s Pivdennyi Machine-Building Plant (Pivdenmash) in the city of Dnipro — a major Ukrainian defense enterprise that produces rocket and space equipment.

Russia’s use of the Oreshnik missile was presented as a response to Ukrainian attacks with U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles on a weapons depot in the Bryansk Region on Nov. 18-19 and British Storm Shadow missiles on Maryino in Russia’s Kursk Region on Nov. 20. Putin claimed that the new “Oreshnik” system will continue to be deployed.

On Nov. 17 — one day prior to the attack in Bryansk — The New York Times reported that U.S. President Joe Biden had, for the first time, authorized the Ukrainian military to use long-range ATACMS missiles against internationally recognized Russian territory. Depending on the variant, ATACMS missiles have a range of 140 to 300 kilometers.

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