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Russia promised retaliation after saying it shot down eight American-made ATACMS missiles fired by Ukraine on Saturday morning (4).
Russia promises retaliation after saying it shot down 8 US-made missiles. Photo: Reproduction
Vladimir Putin’s government sees the use of these missiles, which have a range of up to 300 kilometers, as a major escalation in the conflict.
The country’s air defenses shot down the eight ballistic missiles along with 72 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the Russian Defense Ministry said. The ministry added that “these actions of the Kiev regime, which is supported by Western trustees, will be met with retaliation.”
The statement notes that several drones were destroyed in the Leningrad region and one in Kursk, where Ukraine launched a surprise attack last year.
The President of the United States, justifying in part that it was in response to Russia expanding the conflict by using North Korean troops.
Use of Russia’s new ballistic missile
Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to respond to Ukrainian attacks with his new nuclear-capable ballistic missile, the “Oreshnik.”
Last month, Putin suggested it could be fired at the capital Kiev as a test of Western-supplied air defense systems.
The first and only launch of the experimental weapon targeted the Dnipro region of Ukraine on the morning of November 21.
Exchange of attacks between Russia and Ukraine
Ukrainian drone strikes forced temporary restrictions at an airport in St. Petersburg, Russian state agency TASS reported.
Leningrad Region Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said in a statement on Telegram that the “night and morning of January 4 were records in terms of the number of UAVs destroyed,” with four shot down over the area.
Andrii Kovalenko, a Ukrainian security official, highlighted that a port in Leningrad was targeted in the offensive, calling the structure an “instrument of economic and military survival for isolated Russia.”
Meanwhile, Russia launched a total of 81 drones into Ukraine overnight from Friday to Saturday, according to the Ukrainian Air Force Command, including Iranian-made Shahed drones and “various types of imitation drones.”
Around 34 Shahed attack UAVs and other types of drones were shot down, according to a statement, although the downed drones caused damage in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions.
