On November 18, Ukraine announced that U.S.-supplied ATACMS rockets struck Russian territory, a claim Russia later confirmed and illustrated with photographs.
History of ATACMS use by Ukraine
Ukraine has used American ATACMS missiles in attacks on Russian military targets inside occupied regions, first receiving them in 2023. Earlier strikes hit Russian airbases in the occupied cities of Luhansk and Kharkiv.
According to unofficial reports, the first case of such a missile hitting mainland Russia appeared about a year ago in the Belgorod region, with ranges of up to 300 km.
Ukrainian Armed Forces’ announcement
The Ukrainian Armed Forces stated on November 18 that they successfully employed ATACMS tactical systems to deliver precision strikes on military targets on Russian soil.
Ukraine said it would continue using these American warheads against objectives within the Russian Federation, calling the event a “milestone” that demonstrates unwavering commitment to sovereignty and resilience against Russian offensives.
Russian Ministry of Defense confirms the strike
The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed an ATACMS attack on Tuesday at about 14:30 Moscow time. The missiles were reportedly intercepted by Russian forces before striking the city of Voronezh.
Fragments of the destroyed missiles damaged roofs of a care home, orphanage, and a private house, but no civilian casualties were reported.
Russian authorities claimed the attack was aimed at Kharkiv, and released photographs of missile fragments apparently shot down.
