Ukrainian strikes on two Russian airfields in Ukraine using new U.S.-provided long-range missiles likely destroyed 14 Kremlin helicopters this week, according to intelligence from the United Kingdom.
Kyiv’s forces used the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which arrived in the country earlier this month, to strike the Russian airfields in Luhansk and the port city of Berdyansk on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the time.
“Although the extent of damage is currently unconfirmed, it is likely nine Russian military helicopters at Berdyansk and five at Luhansk were destroyed” in the strikes, the U.K. Ministry of Defense (MOD) said Friday.
Such losses would be particularly damaging for the Russians given that its defensive lines have become increasingly reliant on rotary wing air support, the MOD intelligence assessment noted.
“If confirmed, it is highly likely these losses will have an impact on Russia’s ability to both defend and conduct future offensive activity” in those two locations, the U.K. said.
In a video Zelensky posted Friday, he called Russian losses “really impressive” and “exactly the kind of losses of the occupier that Ukraine needs.”
The ATACMS is a potential game-changer for Ukraine in its fight against Russia because the weapon can hit targets previously considered out of reach. Some versions of the system can strike locations more than 100 miles away.
The missiles’ use comes after Ukraine for months had begged the United States to provide them. But the Biden administration held off over fears that Kyiv might use the weapons to strike targets within Russian territory, enraging Moscow and escalating the war.
As a compromise, Washington reportedly provided Kyiv with a limited-range version of the missiles.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, has not yet commented on reports of the ATACMS strikes.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the U.S. delivery of the missiles to Ukraine “another mistake by the United States.”
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