First Using US Long-range Missiles, Ukrainian Troops Successfully Damaged Airfields In Russian-Occupied Areas

HIMARS belongs to the Ukrainian military. (Wikimedia Commons/General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian forces successfully caused severe damage to airfields in Russian-occupied territory, while first using the ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) long-range missile supplied by the United States.

The Ukrainian military has issued Tuesday's report on the success of a high-precision attack on the airfield near Lugansk in eastern Ukraine and Berdiansk in the south, the coast of the Azov Sea, where both are controlled by Russia.

"Today, a special thank you to the United States. Our agreement with President Biden is being held. Very accurate. ATACMS has proven itself," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his video address.

President Zelensky's comments mark the use of the first confirmed ATACMS in Ukraine, which can fly up to 190 miles (310 km). The country's Ministry of Defense promises through X that there will be "further news to come".

"As you can see, now we can achieve the target perfectly, with high precision, so the enemy has no chance," Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told national television.

Previously, Ukraine had repeatedly asked Washington to send ATACMS. Kyiv promised not to use it within Russian territory, but believed it would change the course of the war that had been going on for 20 months.

Deploying weapons that can be launched with HIMARS, which is also supplied by the US, will allow Ukrainian troops to disrupt Russian-used supply lines, air bases, and rail networks in occupied areas and previously unreachable, senior officials said.

The Ukrainian Special Forces, without mention of ATACMS, said nine helicopters, an air defense missile launcher, runway, and other equipment, had been destroyed, with heavy losses to Russian troops.

There has been no official comment from Russia yet. But an official stationed by Moscow in the part of the Zaporizhia region controlled by Moscow, which is the location of Berdiansk, said a bunch munitions of the ATACMS missile were found there on Tuesday.

Separately, Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said the new chapter of the war had begun.

"There is no longer a safe place for Russian troops on the internationally recognized Ukrainian border," he wrote on X.