Russia vows revenge after it said Ukraine fired missiles supplied by the United States News of the war between Russia and Ukraine

Outgoing US President Joe Biden authorized Kiev to use long-range weapons against Russia.

Russia vowed to retaliate after it claimed to have shot down eight US-supplied aircraft ATACMS Ukraine fired missiles at the Belgorod border region.

“On January 3, an attempt was made from Ukrainian territory to launch a missile attack on the Belgorod region using US-made operational tactical ATACMS missiles,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

“These actions by the Kiev regime, which is supported by Western secretaries, will be met with retaliation,” she added, adding that all the missiles had been shot down.

The ministry said earlier that air defenses shot down eight ATACMS missiles in total, without specifying when or where.

Officials in Ukraine have not yet responded to this accusation.

the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) It has a range of 300 kilometers (190 miles) and was first developed in the 1980s.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden allowed Kiev to use long-range weapons against Russia last year, in a move the Kremlin condemned and described as a dangerous escalation of the conflict that has been going on for nearly three years. Biden is expected to announce additional security assistance to Ukraine in the coming days, according to White House spokesman John Kirby.

US President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview last month that he “strongly” opposed Ukraine’s use of weapons, which he said “escalated” the conflict.

Along with military support from the United States, Kiev will also receive France’s first Mirage 2000-5F multirole fighter this month, according to French magazine Avions Legendaires.

Russian President Vladimir Putin He threatened Last year to hit central Kiev with a hypersonic ballistic missile if Ukraine continued to strike Russian territory with long-range Western weapons.

Kyiv and Moscow exchanged accusations of murder Attacks on civilians since the beginning of the year.

The governor of the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine, Oleg Senegubov, said that a Russian attack on a village in the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine earlier on Saturday led to the death of a 74-year-old man.

At least three people, including two children, were injured in a Russian attack on the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, local authorities said. Sumy is located on the border of the Russian Kursk region and has been subjected to regular bombing by Russian forces for months.

The Ukrainian army said on Saturday that Russian forces also launched attacks near the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to bypass it from the south and cut off supply routes to Ukrainian forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that Russia launched 300 attack drones and 20 missiles at Ukrainian targets in the first three days of 2025, but said that Ukrainian forces shot down a large amount of them.

“Such Russian terrorism, which continues with unabated intensity, requires us and all our partners not to reduce efforts to strengthen our air defense shield and all its systemic components – from Patriot systems to mobile fire groups,” Zelensky said on social media platforms. .

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will begin his final trip in office this weekend, traveling to South Korea, Japan and France.

In meetings in Paris, he is expected to discuss European security and the Russian war in Ukraine with French officials, showcasing the Biden administration’s final outreach to Kiev before the Trump government takes power.