Ukraine is believed to have launched its first US-supplied ATACMS missile with a cluster warhead to strike a military airfield deep within Russian territory.
According to Ukrainska Pravda on November 25, citing information from open-source intelligence analysts, Ukraine launched, for the first time, a US-supplied ATACMS ballistic missile, along with a cluster warhead, at the Kursk-Vostochny airfield (also known as Khalino air base) in Russia's Kursk province.
Watch Ukraine launch ATACMS to unleash a firestorm on a Russian military airfield.
The attack took place on the evening of November 24th and the early morning of November 25th. Footage allegedly from the scene shows warheads exploding inside the airport. According to analysts, two M39 (Block 1) ATACMS missiles were used. This version can carry 950 small M74 rounds, about the size of a baseball and weighing 0.5 kg.
ATACMS missile
PHOTO: US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
The M39A1 (Block 1A) version can carry 300 M74 rounds. Block 1 has a range of 165 km while Block 1A has a range of 300 km, according to Reuters.
The attack reportedly targeted the airport's aircraft parking area. A Russian military blogger confirmed the attack, stating that Ukraine launched eight missiles and Russia attempted to intercept seven, without specifying whether they were successful.
The military journal The War Zone published satellite images that did not show extensive damage at the base, but the images were unclear and key areas were not captured. The number of aircraft at the airfield was also limited, and The War Zone said this was not surprising given that the base had not been used as a primary combat site for some time.
The images allegedly show the fire at Kursk-Vostochny military airport in the early hours of November 25.
PHOTO: SCREENSHOT FROM UKRAINSKA PRAVDA
On November 17, The New York Times reported that the administration of US President Joe Biden had for the first time authorized Ukraine to use ATACMS long-range missiles to attack Russian territory. On the night of November 18-19, Ukraine launched its first ATACMS attack targeting military facilities in Russia's Bryansk province. The White House officially confirmed the change in stance on November 25.
Britain and France subsequently gave Ukraine the green light to use Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles, supplied by these two countries, to attack Russian territory for legitimate self-defense purposes.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ukraine-lan-dau-phong-ten-lua-atacms-vao-san-bay-quan-su-nga-185241126084711541.htm
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