Peskov said a response to the AFU attack on Taganrog with ATACMS missiles was inevitable

The Russian army's response to the strike of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) with US ATACMS missiles on the airfield in Taganrog is inevitable. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on December 12.

"I want to recall the absolutely unambiguous and direct statement of the Russian Defense Ministry yesterday, which clearly said that a response will follow. The response will naturally follow then and in the way it will be deemed appropriate, but it will follow necessarily," the presidential spokesman said at a briefing.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported theAFU strike on the military airfield in Taganrog the previous day. Two missiles were shot down with the help of the Pantsir air defense system, while another four were deflected off course by electronic warfare equipment. The ministry warned that the attack by Western long-range weapons would not go unanswered.

On the same day, Yuri Slyusar, interim governor of the Rostov region, said an industrial plant had been damaged and more than a dozen cars burned as a result of the nighttime missile attack on Taganrog. Air defense forces also destroyed a drone over the region.

Alexei Chepa, deputy chairman of the State Duma's international affairs committee, said on December 11 that Russia would use all possible means to respond to the AFU missile attack on Taganrog.

The AFU is trying to strike Russian territories against the background of the special operation in Donbass, the start of which was announced on February 24, 2022. The decision was taken due to the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.