Ukraine reportedly attacked two Russian airfields on Tuesday with long-range ballistic missiles covertly sent from the United States in recent days.
The country’s special forces said they destroyed nine Russian helicopters, an anti-aircraft missile system, and a warehouse filled with ammunition in eastern Ukraine, according to the BBC. Dozens of Russian troops were injured or killed in what Ukraine dubbed “Operation Dragonfly.”
Ukraine’s military communication department made an announcement on Tuesday on Telegram, saying it had “made well-aimed strikes on enemy airfields and helicopters near the temporarily occupied Luhansk and Berdyansk.” They stated that the missiles hit Berdyansk at 4 a.m. local time and Luhansk at 11 a.m. local time.
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This is the first time the country has used the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System in its war with Russia. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. covertly gave Ukraine a small arsenal of ATACMS missiles, which have the ability to hit targets past Russian defensive lines up to 186 miles away.
Vladimir Rogov, the governor of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region appointed by Russian officials, claimed that air defense systems “successfully intercepted enemy rockets” in Berdyansk.
But unverified videos of Berdyansk, which seem to show rockets and explosions, have spread on social media.
Last month, an NBC News story confirmed by three U.S. officials asserted that the Biden administration had informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that it would provide ATACMS missiles to help the nation destroy supply lines, air bases, and rail networks in Russian territories.
Despite the White House declining to comment on the report, and the Pentagon saying, “in regards to ATACMS we have nothing to announce,” officials had said that the tentative plan was to send about two dozen missiles.
The Biden administration had previously declared that it would hand Ukraine an additional $325 million in military aid, including air defense machinery, cluster munitions, anti-tank weapons, and other military equipment.
