On the afternoon of June 9, the Russian public and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced a drone attack on the Belgorod region. They were the first to share a video of a large-scale fire, and the military department assured that it had repelled an attack by drones.
Telegram channel "Pepel" wrote that after the attack, an ammunition depot exploded near the village of Rakytne. In the published video, characteristic explosions from the secondary detonation can be heard.
The governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that there was a fire in a non-residential building in the Rakitnian district, but the residents of the nearby buildings decided to evacuate. He also informed about three wounded territorial defense fighters who were attacked by drones in the Borysiv district of the region.
Meanwhile, the British TV channel Sky News reports that the combat aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck the Belgorod region for the first time. The TV channel referred to a Ukrainian military source.
The interlocutor said that the Ukrainian Air Force attacked the Russian command post in the Belgorod region, but he did not specify when it happened. It was a direct hit. The consequences of the attack are being investigated. It is not known what exactly the aircraft hit.
This is probably the first attack by the Air Force of the Armed Forces after the permission of Kyivʼs allies to strike the Russian Federation with Western weapons.
- On May 30, 2024, it became known that US President Joe Biden gave permission to Ukraine to strike Russian territory with American weapons, but with certain restrictions — the strikes must be against military targets in the border regions to protect Kharkiv Oblast.
- Financial Times journalist Christopher Miller wrote that Ukraine applied for permission to stop the offensive on Kharkiv region on May 13. Two days later, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan explained to Joe Biden why the clearance should be granted, and he agreed, asking his team to work out the details. State Secretary Anthony Blinken also started promoting this idea after returning from Kyiv on May 17. At the end of May, the US leader approved the decision, and it entered into force on May 30.
- Ukraine can freely use American GMLRS rockets, HIMARS artillery missile systems and other artillery. The permit does not cover ATACMS long-range surface-to-surface missiles.
- On June 1, the American magazine Forbes wrote that the Defense Forces began to fire American weapons at Russian military targets in Belgorod region almost immediately after the US permission. On the night of May 31, HIMARS attacked the territory of the Russian Federation for the first time.
- On June 4, White House national security adviser John Kirby said that Ukrainian troops can shoot down Russian military aircraft over the territory of the Russian Federation with American weapons. The US did not impose any restrictions on it.
- Britain, France, Germany, Finland and several other countries gave Ukraine permission to attack the Russian Federation with Western weapons.