Kyiv, Ukraine
Ukraine struck Russia with US-made long-range missiles for the first time even as Russian President Vladimir Putin talked of 'nuclear response'.
The Ukrainian armed forces carried out their first strike in a border region within Russian territory with an Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missile, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.
The ministry said that Kyiv fired six US-made ATACMS at Russia’s Bryansk region. This comes a day after US President Joe Biden permitted Ukraine to use the US-supplied long-range missiles to attack inside Russia.
Ukrainian forces fired six "ballistic missiles," the ministry said on its official Telegram page, adding that five of these missiles were downed and the sixth was damaged.
"According to confirmed data, American-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles were used," it added.
"Tonight, at 3:25, the enemy launched a strike on a facility in the Bryansk region with six ballistic missiles. According to confirmed data, American-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles were used," the department said, as reported by state media RIA Novosti.
It claimed that the S-400 and Pantsir air defence missile systems shot down five missiles and damaged sixth one, fragments of which fell on a military facility, causing a fire.
The ministry stressed the debris fell on the territory of an unspecified military facility.
The fallen debris led to a fire, but no causalities have been reported, the ministry added.
Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing Moscow to use nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear state receiving backing from nuclear powers.
Kremlin further defended the decree, labelling it as "necessary".
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia broadening its rules for the use of nuclear weapons was a "necessary" response to what the country considers Western threats to its security.
As Biden is set to leave the administration in January, the move marks a significant change in the policy of the US in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to limit US support for Ukraine and bring an end to the ongoing war.
Also read: Biden permits Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike inside Russia
Biden administration's decision comes months after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky requested permission to use American weapons to strike inside Russia.
What is the Army Tactical Missile System?
The Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile that can hit targets at up to 300 km. The range of the missile makes it particularly significant for Ukraine.
ATACMS was built by the defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin. They are fuelled by solid rocket propellant and follow a ballistic path into the atmosphere before coming back down at a high speed and high angle, which makes them difficult to intercept.
Kyiv has been using these missiles on Russian targets in occupied Ukrainian territory for more than a year now.
Till now, the US has never permitted Ukraine to use the ATACMS inside Russian territory. However, Ukraine kept on asking America to allow them to use it.
Watch | Russia-Ukraine War: Biden Allows Ukraine To Use U.S. Arms To Strike Inside Russia
However, the Ukrainian president has not confirmed anything about these attacks inside Russia. But, on Sunday, he said, "Strikes are not made with words ... The missiles will speak for themselves."
A Western diplomat stressed that it might raise the war cost for Russia.
"I don't think it will be decisive," a Western diplomat in Kyiv told the BBC, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. However, it’s an overdue symbolic decision to raise the stakes and demonstrate military support to Ukraine."
"It can raise the war cost for Russia," the diplomat added.
(With inputs from agencies)