Moscow: Russia vowed retaliation after claiming to have shot down eight US made ATACMS missiles that Ukraine fired on Saturday. It also added that Russian forces took control of a village in eastern Luhansk region in Ukraine.
Sharing further details, Moscow officials said that St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport stopped all flights from landing or taking off for the time being, Reuters reports. Apart from the US-made ATACMS missiles, Russia also shot down 72 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Speaking to CNN, an official of Russia’s Ministry of Defence said, “These actions by Kyiv will be retaliated.”
ATACMS missiles have potential to destroy targets up to 300 kms
It may be noted that the US-made ATACMS missiles can destroy targets up to 300 kilometers (186 miles). Earlier, US President Joe Biden had approved the use of these missiles by Ukraine after Russia reportedly deployed North Korean troops against Kyiv.
“Night and morning of January 4 were record-breaking in terms of the number of UAVs destroyed,” Leningrad’s Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko, said in a statement on Telegram. In the meantime, it may be noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin too threatened that Moscow would respond to missile attacks with its nuclear-capable ballistic missile ‘Oreshnik’ against Ukraine.
