Russia has accused Ukraine of launching a salvo of US-made long-range missiles against its Bryansk region on Tuesday — marking a significant escalation on the 1,000th day of the ongoing war.

Russian news outlets, citing the Russian Defense Ministry, reported that Russian air defense systems intercepted five of the incoming missiles and successfully damaged one during the early morning attack.

The Russian Ministry added that the wreckage of one missile struck a military installation in the region, sparking a fire, but there were no significant damages or casualties.

This development follows Ukraine’s admission that it targeted a large Russian munitions facility near Karachev, a town approximately 70 miles from the Ukrainian border, though it did not specify which missile was used in the strike.

A source within Ukraine’s defense apparatus, who chose to remain anonymous, told RBC-Ukraine that the missile used was a US-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which President Biden recently authorized Ukraine to deploy, triggering warnings of potential global conflict.

“Indeed, for the first time, we used ATACMS to strike Russian territory,” the source said.

“The strike was carried out against a facility in the Bryansk region, and it was successfully hit.”

Videos shared online showed a dramatic explosion, followed closely by a massive column of smoke.

The Ukrainian military’s general staff reported that the strike was followed by 12 secondary explosions and detonations in the vicinity.

“The destruction of ammunition depots will continue for the army of the Russian occupiers in order to stop the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine,” the military stated.

While Ukraine has frequently used domestically produced drones to target locations deep within Russia, it has not confirmed which weapon was employed in the strike on the Karachev facility.

Earlier reports from Russia’s Ministry of Defense indicated that its forces had shot down 12 Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk region during the early hours of Tuesday.

This incident coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin issuing a stark warning to the United States, following the signing of a new law that authorizes the use of nuclear strikes in retaliation for long-range missile attacks.

The updated Russian doctrine, which lowers the threshold for nuclear action, was enacted just days after reports surfaced that the Biden administration had granted Ukraine permission to use US-supplied missiles to strike targets deep within Russia’s Kursk region.

Sources suggested that Ukraine was preparing to initiate such strikes in the near future.

Russian lawmakers were quick to criticize the shift in Washington’s stance regarding the Ukraine conflict, accusing President Biden of recklessness.

“This is a very big step towards the start of World War III,” said Vladimir Dzhabarov, the first deputy head of the Russian upper house’s international affairs committee, according to Russia’s Tass news agency.

{Matzav.com}