Defense Ministry says preparing response to Ukrainian missile strikes

The Russian Defence Ministry has said that it is preparing to retaliate to the strikes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) with US ATACMS missiles on the territory of Kursk Region. This was reported by the press service of the ministry on November 26.

"The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation controls the situation, retaliatory actions are being prepared," the publication said.

The Kiev regime has launched two attacks on the infrastructure of the Kursk region over the past three days using long-range ATACMS ballistic missiles provided to Ukraine by the United States.

The first AFU strike on the region came on November 23 near the village of Lotarevka against the position of the S-400 anti-aircraft missile division. Three U.S.-made operational-tactical missiles were destroyed by means of the Pantsir anti-aircraft missile and cannon system (SAM), two reached the target, resulting in damage to the radar station (radar) and injuries to defense personnel.

Two days after this attack, the Kiev regime struck another eight ATACMS at an airfield in the Kursk region. Seven of them were shot down by S-400 surface-to-air missile system (SAM) and Pantsir SAMs. As a result of one missile hitting the target, two servicemen were lightly wounded, the infrastructure was damaged only slightly.

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The day before, on November 25, the coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, confirmed that Ukraine has permission to use US ATACMS long-range missiles to strike Russian territory. He specified that it concerns specific types of targets, among them Kursk Region and nearby territories.

Prior to that, on November 19, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the S-400 SAM and Pantsir SAM systems in the Bryansk region shot down five ATACMS missiles fired by the AFU and damaged another one. The wreckage of the latter fell on the territory of a military facility, without casualties or damage. In addition, the ministry said on November 21 that Russian air defense means shot down two Storm Shadow missiles launched by the Ukrainian side.

On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine had used Western long-range weapons against the Russian state, causing the regional conflict to acquire elements of a global one. He also said that one of Russia's newest medium-range missile systems, the Oreshnik ballistic missile, had been tested under combat conditions.

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