Ukraine strikes Russia with US-made long-range missiles

Ukraine used US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory on Tuesday, taking advantage of newly granted permission from the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden on the war's 1,000th day.

Russia said its forces shot down five of six missiles fired at a military facility in the Bryansk region. Debris of one hit the facility, starting a fire that was swiftly put out and caused no casualties or damage, it said.

Ukraine said it struck a Russian arms depot about 110 km (70 miles) inside Russia, an attack that caused secondary explosions. Ukraine's military did not publicly specify the weapons used, but a Ukrainian government source and a US official confirmed it had used ATACMS.

A US official said Russia intercepted two of eight missiles and that the strike was at an ammunition supply point.

Biden gave approval this week for Ukraine to use ATACMS, the longest-range missiles Washington has supplied, for such attacks inside Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the use of ATACMS was a clear signal the West wanted to escalate the conflict.

Moscow has said such weapons cannot be used without direct US operational support and their use would make Washington a direct combatant in the war, prompting Russian retaliation.

The attack took place as Ukraine marked 1,000 days of war, with a fifth of its territory in Russian hands and doubts about the future of Western support as President-elect Donald Trump heads back to the White House.

At the United Nations in New York, Ukraine's UN ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, read a statement from his country and 42 others and the European Union, rejecting Russia's "attempted illegal annexation" of Ukrainian territory and demanding immediate withdrawal.

The missile's range of up to 300 km is much shorter than that of some Moscow has used to strike Ukraine, including its hypersonic Kinzhal weapon with a reported range of up to 2,000 km.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new nuclear doctrine that appeared intended as a warning to Washington. It lowers the threshold under which Russia might use atomic weapons to include responding to attacks that threaten its territorial integrity.

Washington said the update to the nuclear doctrine was no surprise and rejected "more of the same irresponsible rhetoric from Russia".