On Tuesday night, the Ukrainian army struck Russian territory for the first time with US long-range ATACMS missiles, Forbes Ukraine reports, citing anonymous sources in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
A source confirmed to the publication an ATACMS ballistic missile attack on the 67th arsenal of the Russian Main Rocket and Artillery Directorate in Karachovo, Bryansk Region.
At the same time, the General Staff of the Ukrainian army confirmed in the morning that on the night of the 19th of November the Defence Forces hit “an arsenal of material and technical support of Russian troops in the Karachovo district of Bryansk region”, without specifying what kind of weapons were used to achieve this. The Disinformation Centre reported that the depot contained artillery munitions, including North Korean munitions for their systems, guided aerial bombs, anti-aircraft missiles and munitions for jet launchers.
At 2.30 a.m., 12 secondary explosions and a detonation were reportedly detected in the target area.
“The destruction of ammunition depots of the Russian occupying army will continue in order to stop the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine. Further developments will follow…,” the General Staff said.
On the 19th of November, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin approved Russia’s updated nuclear doctrine by decree. This came shortly after the White House authorised Ukraine to conduct strikes with American long-range missiles deep inside Russian territory. One of the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons is the ‘launching of ballistic missiles’.
On the 17th of November, The New York Times reported that the current US President Joe Biden has for the first time authorised Ukraine to use long-range ATACMS missiles to attack Russia.
US ATACMS missiles can have a range of 140 to 300 kilometres, depending on the modification.