Russia says Ukraine has fired six US-made longer-range missiles into the Bryansk region

By HANNA ARHIROVA and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine fired six American-supplied longer-range missiles at Russia’s Bryansk region, Moscow said Tuesday, in what would be Kiev’s first use of the weapons in Russia in 1,000 days of war.

The reported use of the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, came as Russian President Vladimir Putin formally lowered the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, opening the door to a possible nuclear response from Moscow to even a conventional attack by which country supported by nuclear energy. These could include U.S.-backed Ukrainian attacks

A Telegram channel affiliated with the Ukrainian military posted a video on Tuesday showing US-supplied ATACMS missiles being fired from an undisclosed location in Ukraine. The Associated Press could not independently verify the date and location the video was shot.

The developments marked a worrying new escalation of the conflict, which has repeatedly increased international tensions. US officials recently expressed dismay over Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops to help the country fight Ukraine, while Moscow seethed as Washington eased restrictions on the ATACMS in recent days.

The 1,000-day mark has increased scrutiny of how the war is unfolding and how it could end, amid signs that a turning point may be coming when newly-elected US President Donald Trump enters the White House in about two months. Trump has pledged to end the war quickly and has criticized the amount of money the US has spent supporting Ukraine.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine can sustain the war for long, analysts say, although Russia can hold out longer thanks to its greater resources.

Ukrainian forces are under heavy Russian pressure on the battlefield in places along the roughly 1,000-kilometer-long front line, where the army is stretched thin. Ukrainian civilians have now been repeatedly beaten by Russian drones and missiles.

On Tuesday, Ukraine claimed it had struck a military weapons depot in Russia’s Bryansk region in the middle of the night, although it did not specify which weapons it used. The Ukrainian General Staff said multiple explosions and explosions were heard in the target area, around Karachev.

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was asked at a press conference whether Ukraine had hit the Bryansk region ammunition depot with ATACMS, he declined to provide details. However, he said: “Ukraine has long-range capabilities, including domestically produced long-range drones… and now we also have ATACMS.”

In a statement carried by Russian news agencies, the Russian Defense Ministry said the military shot down five ATACMS missiles and damaged another. The fragments fell on the territory of an unspecified military facility, the ministry said. The falling debris sparked a fire but caused no damage or casualties, the report said.

Neither party’s claims could be independently verified.

Karachev is located approximately 115 kilometers (70 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border. Over the course of the war, Ukraine has been able to reach much deeper into the vast country – but with drones instead of missiles. For example, Russian officials have reported intercepting Ukrainian drones over Moscow, which is about 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the border, and most recently Izhevsk, a city about 1,450 kilometers (900 miles) from the border.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said a third Russian attack in as many days on a residential area in Ukraine killed at least 12 people, including a child.

A Shahed drone strike in the northern Sumy region late Monday struck a dormitory of an educational institution in the city of Hlukhiv and injured 11 others, including two children, authorities said, adding that more people could be trapped under the rubble.

On Sunday, a Russian ballistic missile carrying cluster munitions struck a residential area of ​​Sumy in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people and wounding 84 others. On Monday, a barrage of Russian missiles sparked apartment fires in the southern port of Odessa, killing at least ten people and wounding 43.

Zelensky said the series of airstrikes proved that Putin was not interested in ending the war.

“Every new attack from Russia only confirms Putin’s true intentions. He wants the war to continue. Talks about peace are not interesting to him. We must force Russia into a just peace,” Zelensky said.

Zelenskyy told European Union lawmakers in a speech via video link that Russia has deployed about 11,000 North Korean troops along Ukraine’s borders and that number could rise to 100,000.

He personally appeared in the Ukrainian parliament, where he presented what he called a “resilience plan” to defend against the brutal Russian attack. He said he expects pivotal moments in the war to take place next year.