The Kremlin said Thursday it would “definitely” respond to a Ukrainian attack on a military airfield in its south that used U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia would respond to the ATACMS strike on a military airfield in the southern city of Taganrog, in the Rostov region.
President Vladimir Putin has previously threatened to launch Russia’s new hypersonic ballistic missile, named Oreshnik, at the center of Kyiv if Ukraine does not halt its attacks on Russian territory with U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles.
Russia’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday accused Ukraine of using U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles in the overnight attack. The ministry said all six missiles were intercepted, but that falling debris had caused injuries.
A response “will follow when, and in a way that is deemed, appropriate. It will definitely follow,” Peskov told reporters.
He did not provide details of how Russia might retaliate.
Washington only recently gave Kyiv permission to fire ATACMS on Russian territory, following months of requests.
The United States warned Wednesday that Russia could be preparing to fire Oreshnik missiles at Ukraine again.
The U.S. warning was “based on an intelligence assessment that it's possible that Russia could use this Oreshnik missile in the coming days,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told journalists.
Both sides have escalated aerial attacks in recent months as Russia's troops advance on the battlefield.
Russia’s defense ministry said Thursday its troops had recaptured a settlement in the western Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a shock cross-border offensive in August.
It also said it had captured a tiny settlement in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, where it has been grinding forward for months.
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