Russia vows retaliation after saying it shot down eight U.S.-made long-range missiles
Russia vowed to retaliate after claiming it shot down eight U.S.-made ATACMS missiles launched by Ukraine on Saturday morning.
Moscow considers the use of such missiles, which can have a range of up to 300 kilometers (186 miles), a major upgrade.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that Russian air defense systems shot down 8 ballistic missiles and 72 aircraft-type drones. It added that “these actions by the Kiev regime, which are supported by Western curators, will be met with retaliation.”
Several drones were destroyed in the northwest Leningrad region, and one was destroyed during a Ukrainian raid on Kursk late last summer, the statement said.
Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden approved Kyiv’s use of ATACMS in November, saying it was partly in response to Russia’s efforts to expand the conflict by deploying North Korean troops.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to use Russia’s new nuclear ballistic missile, the Oreshnik, in response to Ukraine’s attack.
Residents and bomb squad members stand in front of a house destroyed by a Russian missile strike on Saturday. -Maxim Kishka/Reuters
Last month, Putin said missiles could be fired into the capital Kiev to test Western-provided air defense systems.
On the morning of November 21, this experimental weapon was launched for the first and only time against the Dnipro region of Ukraine.
A Ukrainian drone strike has forced temporary restrictions at an airport in St. Petersburg, according to Russian state media TASS.
Leningrad Region Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said in a statement posted on Telegram that “a record number of drones were destroyed during the night and morning of January 4,” including four unmanned aircraft. The manned aircraft was shot down over the area.
Ukrainian security official Andrii Kovalenko said a seaport in Leningrad had been targeted, calling it “a tool for Russia’s economic and military survival in isolation”.
Meanwhile, Russia launched a total of 81 drones into Ukraine from Friday to Saturday night, including Iranian-made Shahed drones and “imitation drones of various types,” according to the Ukrainian Air Force Command. .
A statement said that about 34 “Shahed” attack drones and other types of drones were shot down, but the downed drones caused damage in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions.
Ukraine is at a disadvantage in the conflict that began in February 2022, with Russia making gains on the eastern front.
Russian troops have taken control of the village of Nadia in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday. In Donetsk, Russian pressure is mounting as Ukrainian forces lose ground south and east of the town of Pokrovsk.
Ukraine is also concerned that the incoming Trump administration, who himself has vowed to end the conflict, could cut vital military aid.
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