The decision taken by US President Joe Biden's administration to supply Ukraine's military with long-range ATACMS missiles is a "serious mistake", according to a statement released today by Russia's ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, following Kiev's confirmation how he used those long-range missiles to hit Russian airfields.
"The White House's decision to send long-range missiles to the Ukrainians is a grave mistake. The consequences of this measure, which was deliberately hidden from public opinion, will be very serious," noted Mr. Antonov via Telegram.
"The US continues to push for direct conflict between NATO and Russia ," he added.
The White House, following press reports in recent days that it had sent ATACMS to the Ukrainian military, confirmed yesterday that it had indeed recently delivered a version of this weapon system with an effective range of 165 kilometers (the maximum is 300 km).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also confirmed that his country's forces used ATACMS after the Ukrainian military said it had hit two air bases in Russian-controlled sectors of Ukrainian territory.
According to Ukrainian special forces, nine helicopters, anti-aircraft artillery, landing strips and various Russian equipment were destroyed at two bases near Luhansk (east) and Berdyansk (south) in the Sea of Azov.
According to Vladimir Rogov, an official stationed by Moscow in the Zaporizhia region, M74 submunitions, the type carried by the ATACMS, were found at the Berdyansk airport.
Kiev, which has been asking for ATACMS for months and has assured it will not use them to strike targets on Russian soil, says the weapons could change the course of the war that began 20 months ago when the Russian army invaded Ukrainian territory.
It remains to be seen whether or how much of a significant advantage such weapons will give Ukraine. For its part, the Kremlin assumes that the supply of ATACMS or other US weapons systems, such as Abrams tanks, will not change the balance of power on the battlefields.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry announced via Telegram that air defense systems had intercepted and destroyed 28 Ukrainian drones in the Belgorod and Kursk regions and the Black Sea overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.
2 comments:
It seems to me I've heard that song before..maybe they should turn up the jam a little.
This not world war two where they either fought or were shot in retreat
Russia is at the most at a stalemate.
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