Russia claims that its military factory was attacked by a US-made ATACMS ballistic missile early Tuesday morning, which, if true, would support suspicions of a change in US policy regarding long-range attacks.
Both sides in the Ukraine war appear to agree that Kiev launched an attack on the Russian Federation on Tuesday morning. Two accounts differ about the effectiveness of the attack, and Kiev has not disclosed the type of weapon used, but Russia has said there is evidence of an attack by American Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles.
The attack came just days after reports that President Joe Biden had changed his mind about allowing Ukraine to use U.S.-made missiles to attack Russia itself. The Russian government has warned that while this is not an overt act of war by the United States, it constitutes a serious escalation of the conflict, and after Russia changed its nuclear doctrine on Tuesday morning to include a missile strike in Ukraine. There is.
Comments from key Kremlin figures and changes to Russia's nuclear doctrine announced this morning all indicate that, at the very least, a Ukrainian strike deep into Russia's interior with a U.S.-supplied missile would be construed as a proxy attack by the United States. Suggests. As mentioned, some analysts said This rhetoric was likely intended by the Russian government to warn the US government about the seriousness of its decision regarding long-range missiles and to give it an opportunity to implement the leaked policy before it is officially announced. .
Nevertheless, the strike appears to have moved forward. Ukrainian media, including state media, have claimed that the attack was on a munitions facility, believed to be an arsenal at the 1046th Logistics Center near Karachev, Bryansk region. Karachev is located between the Ukrainian border and Moscow, about 110 miles from the Ukrainian border and well within the weapons system's official range of 190 miles.
According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, “12 secondary explosions and one detonation” were recorded in connection with the attack. Formerly Russian-owned Ukrainian broadcasting station RBC-Ukraine stateA Ukrainian government insider said ATACAM was used, according to a report cited by Bloomberg on Tuesday.
Russia's Defense Ministry said it had “confirmed data” showing that the attacks were carried out by ATACMS missiles, of which there were six. A Kremlin spokesman said five of the missiles were shot down by Russian air defenses and one was “damaged”, but said fragments still fell on the target and caused a fire. The fire was “quickly extinguished” and there were no injuries or damage, the report said.
The Russian government also announced a simultaneous attack by 12 Ukrainian attack drones on the same region of Bryansk, which were also shot down.
Ukraine has had ATACMS missiles since 2023, but their use has been restricted by donor the United States, and to prevent escalation of the conflict, long-range missiles are limited to hitting Russian targets within Ukraine's official borders. It was stipulated that it could only be used in certain cases. Ukraine has had remarkable successes with modern ballistic “bunker buster” missiles similar to ATACMS against Russian targets in the occupied territories, including a spectacular direct hit on the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Crimea and Russian warships in the region. This includes hits.
Tuesday morning's airstrike, which took place hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin formally announced his country's new nuclear doctrine, appears to include just such attacks in its scope. As reported:
“The amended doctrine expands the range of states and military alliances that are subject to nuclear deterrence, as well as the list of military threats that nuclear deterrence counters,” Moscow said in a statement.
Crucially for Western military planners, Russia now considers “any attack” by a non-nuclear state backed by a nuclear-armed state to be similar to the US, France and UK support for Ukraine. It's about being there. It is a “joint attack” and there is a risk of a nuclear reaction. Such attacks include conventional weapons attacks that threaten Russia's “sovereignty,” as well as “large-scale launches of enemy aircraft, missiles, and drones targeting Russian territory.”
