Kyiv [Ukraine], November 26: Ukraine is believed to have launched for the first time a US-supplied ATACMS missile with a cluster warhead to attack a military airfield deep inside Russian territory.
On November 25, the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper cited information from open-source intelligence analysts saying that Ukraine had for the first time launched ATACMS ballistic missiles supplied by the US, along with cluster warheads, at the Kursk-Vostochny military airport (also known as Khalino air base) in Russia's Kursk province.
The attack took place on the evening of November 24 and early morning of November 25. Images believed to be taken at the scene show warheads exploding at the airport. According to analysts, two M39 (Block 1) ATACMS were used. This version can carry 950 M74 submunitions, which are the size of baseballs and weigh 0.5 kg.
The M39A1 (Block 1A) version can carry 300 M74s. Block 1 has a range of 165 km while Block 1A has a range of 300 km, according to Reuters.
The attack reportedly targeted the airport's aircraft parking lot. A Russian military blogger confirmed the attack, saying Ukraine launched eight missiles and Russia tried to intercept seven, without saying whether they were successful.
Satellite images published by the military magazine The War Zone show no major damage at the base, but the images are unclear and key areas are not captured. The number of aircraft at the airfield is also limited, which The War Zone says is not surprising given that the base has not been used as a major combat location for some time.
On November 17, The New York Times reported that the administration of US President Joe Biden had for the first time allowed Ukraine to use long-range ATACMS missiles to attack Russian territory . On the night of November 18 and early morning of November 19, Ukraine carried out its first ATACMS attack targeting a military facility in Russia's Bryansk province. The White House officially confirmed the change of position on November 25.
Britain and France then also gave Ukraine the green light to use Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles provided by these two countries to attack Russian territory for the purpose of reasonable self-defense.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
