Russia on Saturday vowed 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 Moscow 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.
Kyiv’s use of the missile systems has infuriated the Kremlin, which has threatened to hit central Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to the strikes.
ATACMS missiles have a maximum range of 300 kilometres (190 miles), according to publicly available data.
US President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview published last month he was “very vehemently” opposed to Ukraine using the arms, which he said were “escalating” the conflict.
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