News Feed

Russia claims air defense shot down 2 ATACMS missiles

1 min read
Russia claims air defense shot down 2 ATACMS missiles
U.S. Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) firing a missile into the East Sea during a South Korea-U.S. joint missile drill on July 29, 2017. (South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images)

Russian air defense units downed two long-range Army Tactical Missiles Systems (ATACMS) on Oct. 25, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed.

State media reported that the alleged interception marked the first time Russia's military has shot down the U.S.-made missiles.

The ministry did not specify where the targets were intercepted, but included the information in its daily update on the war in Ukraine.

The claim has not been independently verified at this time.

Ukrainian forces began using U.S.-provided ATACMS on Oct. 17, successfully deploying them in a strike against Russian airfields in occupied territories.

National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said on Oct. 24 that the long-range weapons "exceeded expectations."

Kyiv has pledged only to use ATACMS against targets within Ukraine's own borders.

Video thumbnail
Avatar
Abbey Fenbert

Senior News Editor

Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.

Read more
News Feed
 (Updated:  )

The two leaders began their meeting at the U.S. military Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage at around 11:30 a.m. local time. The event will mark their first face-to-face talks of Trump's second term and their first meeting in six years, as well as Putin's first visit to U.S. soil in a decade.

The Kyiv Independent visited the front-line city of Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast to hear from its residents what they think about the prospects of land swaps between Ukraine and Russia ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska.

Show More