After accusing Ukraine of shooting US-supplied ATACMS missiles toward the Belgorod border region the day before, Russia pledged to retaliate on Saturday.
Last year, outgoing US President Joe Biden gave Kyiv permission to employ the long-range weaponry against Russia, a move that the Kremlin condemned as a serious escalation of the conflict that has lasted for almost three years.
According to the Russian defense ministry, “a missile strike against the Belgorod region using US-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles was attempted on January 3 from Ukrainian territory.”
“These actions by the Kyiv regime, which is supported by Western curators, will be met with retaliation,” it added, saying all the missiles were shot down.
Without specifying the time or location, the ministry had previously stated that air defenses had shot down eight ATACMS missiles in all.
Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to use a hypersonic ballistic missile to reach central Kyiv if Ukraine persisted in using long-range Western weaponry on Russian territory.
In an interview last month, US President-elect Donald Trump stated that he was “very vehemently” against Ukraine utilizing the weapons, which he claimed were “escalating” the situation.
