Russia promised on Tuesday November 26, 2024 a ” answer “ to two new Ukrainian strikes carried out using American ATACMS missiles against its territory in recent days.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian forces struck « installations » in the Russian border region of Kursk partially occupied by the Ukrainian army since August.

They took place on November 23 near the village of Lotarevka, 37 kilometers northwest of the city of Kursk, and on November 25 against the Kursk-Vostochny airfield, according to the same source.

He recognized, a rare occurrence, that several missiles had “reached their targets” and reports two Russian soldiers injured and a radar damaged in these shots.

According to him, three ATACMS missiles, with a range of 300 km, out of the five fired were shot down by Russian anti-aircraft defense during the November 23 attack and seven projectiles out of eight fired during the November 25 attack.

“The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is monitoring the situation and preparing a response”he said in a statement, accompanying his message with photos appearing to show missile debris, the authenticity of which cannot be independently confirmed.

Ukraine began using long-range ATACMS missiles in Russia on November 19, as well as British-made Storm Shadows two days later, after getting the green light from Western allies, a response to the deployment of North Korean forces on the Russian side.

The Kremlin, which presented this as a red line, responded by firing an intermediate-range ballistic missile (up to 5,500 km) on November 21 at a military factory in the city of Dnipro, in the center-east of the country. Ukraine.

NATO and G7 support Ukraine

NATO ambassadors reaffirmed their support for kyiv on Tuesday after Russia fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Ukrainian soil, denounced as an attempt to« intimidation »according to a press release from the Alliance.

Russia struck Ukraine on Thursday with a ballistic missile that it presented as experimental and of the latest generation, devoid of its nuclear warhead, and promised to increase this type of attacks if kyiv continued to use Western missiles to target its territory.

This attack “is seen as another attempt by Russia to terrorize the civilian population in Ukraine and intimidate those who support Ukraine” in its war against Russia, this press release said. She “will not prevent Allies from supporting Ukraine”.

“It was crucial for us to hear a resolute response from our partners”argued for her part the head of the Ukrainian mission to NATO, Nataliia Galibarenko. And, she congratulated herself, “They all noted that this action represented a significant escalation by Russia and further proof of its lack of desire to end the war”.

G7 foreign ministers on Tuesday expressed their support for Ukraine and condemned what they called “irresponsible and threatening nuclear rhetoric” from Russia.

They also warned of the risks posed by North Korea’s support for Russia, seeing it as a dangerous extension of the conflict, with serious repercussions for the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.

The G7 ministers also called on China, North Korea’s long-time ally, to take steps to end this support.

“Russia’s use of an intermediate-range ballistic missile on November 21 is further evidence of its reckless behavior and escalation”they declared in a joint press release at the end of their meeting.

“Our support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine will remain unwavering”they added.

kyiv late on mine destruction

Ukraine will not be able to fulfill its commitment to destroy the estimated 6 million landmines left by the Soviet Union following the Russian invasion, a representative of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

The country signed the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention in 2005, but was unable to meet the deadlines set for the destruction of its stockpiles.

Complying with the obligations of the Oslo Action Plan 2020-2024 under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention is “currently not possible” due to the Russian invasion, ministry spokesperson Evgeny Kivshik said at a conference on landmines in Cambodia.

Arsenals and other sites where antipersonnel mines are stored are “constantly subject to air and missile attacks of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”he lamented.

“In addition, some of them are located in territories currently occupied by the Russian armed forces […] there is no way to audit and verify antipersonnel mine stockpiles”he added.

Russian losses

The Ukrainian General Staff has published its daily report of losses suffered by Russian troops since the invasion of the country on February 24, 2022.

According to kyiv, 733,830 Moscow soldiers were rendered unable to fight by being killed, wounded or taken prisoner, an increase of 1,480 soldiers in the space of twenty-four hours.

Kremlin forces also reportedly lost 30,042 tankers and supply vehicles (+92). The count also shows the destruction of 20,806 artillery pieces (+19), 19,256 armored vehicles (+20) or even 19,552 drones (+72), 9,435 assault tanks (+6) and 2 765 cruise missiles (+1).

The regular publication of these figures, which could not be verified, is part of the Ukrainian communications strategy intended to undermine the morale of Moscow’s troops.