 "Russia vows retaliation after Ukraine fires ATACMS missiles into Kursk region twice in three days")
The Kremlin on Tuesday said that it is preparing retaliatory measures after Ukraine fired US-made ATACMS missiles into Russia twice in the past three days.
According to The Guardian report, Moscow said that both strikes targeted air defence positions in the Kursk region, claiming that one or two missiles hit their targets, while the majority were intercepted.
Russia’s defence ministry said the first strike took place on November 23, and two out of five missiles launched at a Russian S-400 air defence system hit the target, damaging its radar system.
In the second attack on November 25, eight missiles were aimed at the Kursk-Vostochny airport, which also hosts a military airbase. One missile reached the target, wounding two soldiers, Reuters quoted the ministry as saying in a statement.
“The ministry… is in control of the situation, and retaliatory measures are being prepared,” it was quoted as saying.
The United States gave Ukraine permission to use the weapons to hit Russian territory earlier this month after months of requests from Kyiv.
Moscow rarely provides specific details on Ukrainian aerial attacks and almost never admits missiles have reached their intended target.
The defence ministry also posted photos of what it said were the missile fragments, showing large casings with English-language inscriptions on the side.
AFP was unable to immediately verify the images.
The strikes come with tensions having ratched up dramatically in the near three-year conflict over the last few weeks.
Putin last week signed a decree lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, days before launching the nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik missile at Ukraine.
With inputs from agencies
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