KEY POINTS
- Russia says Ukraine fired US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles at Belgorod.
- Moscow vows to retaliate, warning of potential hypersonic missile strikes on central Kyiv.
- Last year, Biden authorised ATACMS for Ukraine, while Trump opposes their use.
- During 2024, Russian troops made a 4,000-square-kilometre advance in Ukraine.
MOSCOW: Russia vowed on Saturday to retaliate after it accused Ukraine of firing US-supplied ATACMS missiles at the border region of Belgorod the previous day.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden authorised Kyiv to use the long-range weapons against Russia last year, in a move the Kremlin denounced as a grave escalation of the nearly three-year conflict.
“On January 3, an attempt was made from Ukrainian territory to launch a missile strike against the Belgorod region using US-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles,” the Russian defence ministry said.
“These actions by the Kyiv regime, which is supported by Western curators, will be met with retaliation,” it added, saying all the missiles were shot down.
The ministry said earlier that air defences downed eight ATACMS missiles in total, whose use Moscow has warned could spark a hypersonic ballistic missile attack on central Kyiv.
Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened last year to strike central Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile if Ukraine continued hitting Russian territory with long-range Western weapons.
ATACMS missiles have a range of up to 300 kilometres (190 miles), as per publicly available data. The administration of outgoing US President Joe Biden has supplied Ukraine with the missiles, which are capable of penetrating inside Russia.
US President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview last month he was “very vehemently” opposed to Ukraine using the arms, which he said were “escalating” the conflict.
Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of fatal attacks on civilians since the year began.
Meanwhile, Russian authorities had to temporarily halt operations at the airport in St Petersburg, citing safety reasons.
Take off and landing at Pulkovo airport in St Petersburg were suspended for a few hours, amid reports of Ukrainian drones in the vicinity.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said that 16 Ukrainian drones over the regions of Bryansk, Smolensk, Belgorod, Pskov and Leningrad were destroyed overnight. The regions all surround St Petersburg.
Operations resumed again later on Saturday, a representative of Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday it had captured the Ukrainian village of Nadiia, one of the few settlements in the eastern Lugansk region still under Kyiv’s control.
Moscow advanced by almost 4,000 square kilometres (1,540 square miles) in Ukraine in 2024, according to an AFP analysis, as Kyiv’s army struggled with chronic manpower shortages and exhaustion.
