Russian air defenses have thwarted a long-range missile attack on Crimea that included the use of U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), according to officials in Moscow.
“Ten Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, six ATACMS tactical missiles ... and two [French-made] guided ‘Hammer’ aircraft bombs were downed by air defenses,” Russia’s defense ministry said in an April 30 statement.
The ministry did not state where the attacks occurred, nor specify their intended targets.
But Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-appointed head of Crimea, said a number of long-range ATACMS missiles—he did not say how many—had been successfully downed over the peninsula.
In a social media post, he shared an image of undetonated munitions purportedly found at the scene, which he claimed were proof of an ATACMS missile attack.
The Epoch Times could not independently verify the Russian assertions.
Kyiv, however, later confirmed that its forces had fired at least eight long-range missiles at two Russian airbases in the Crimea.
According to Ukrainian officials cited by Reuters, the missiles were fired from the southern Kherson region.
In remarks to Russia’s RIA news agency, Leonid Ivlev, a Russian lawmaker and former Soviet air force commander, said the Crimean bases were targeted by upward of 12 ATACMS missiles.
“Airfields were the target,” Mr. Ivlev said, asserting that Russian air defenses had downed all incoming missiles.
In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea after holding a region-wide referendum. Since then, Moscow has viewed the strategic peninsula as Russian Federation territory.
Escalation Fears
Delivery of long-range missile systems to Ukraine, including the U.S.-made ATACMS, has long been the subject of debate among Kyiv’s allies.
Proponents have argued that the judicious use of ATACMS would allow Ukraine to strike previously unreachable Russian supply lines, air bases, and rail networks.
Opponents, however, fear that long-range strikes on Russian targets, especially those inside Russian territory, could widen the conflict into a regional war.
Kyiv, for its part, has repeatedly pledged not to use long-range munitions to strike targets outside its borders.
Despite these concerns, the White House confirmed last year that it had given Ukraine a type of ATACMS capable of striking targets more than 100 miles away.
Last October, Ukrainian forces used the missile system for the first time, striking Russian positions in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
According to Ukraine’s defense ministry, the strikes destroyed Russian aircraft, military vehicles, two airfields, and an ammunition depot.
“It’s now possible to hit targets impeccably, with great precision, giving the enemy no chance,” a Ukrainian Air Force spokesman said at the time.
Moscow later confirmed the strikes, which hit targets deep behind Russian defense lines, but claimed they had failed to cause significant damage.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Kyiv’s use of U.S.-supplied ATACMS had “no chance of radically changing the situation along the line of contact.”
Secret Deliveries
Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden approved a fresh $61 billion aid package for Ukraine, which included a variety of long-range munitions.In broadcast remarks, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), head of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, said the promised offensive weapons would include ATACMS missiles.
“It’s written into the legislation,” he told CBS News on April 21.
On the same day President Biden approved the aid package, Reuters cited a U.S. official as saying long-range missiles had already been secretly shipped to Ukraine.
According to the official, the missiles were part of an earlier $300 million aid package that the president approved on March 12.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not say how many missiles had been delivered to date.
Asked about the claims, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that a number of ATACMS missiles had already been sent to Ukraine.
“We’ve already sent some,” Mr. Sullivan told reporters on April 24. “And we will send more now that we have both additional authority and money.”
When asked about Ukraine’s earlier pledge not to strike targets outside its borders, he responded, “We have confidence they will follow through on this commitment.”
