The White House adviser John Kirby said that Ukraine used long-range ATACMS missiles against targets in Russiaʼs Kursk region.
He informed about this during the briefing.
"They can use ATACMS for self-defense in case of immediate need, and now, it is clear that this is happening in Kursk and in the Kursk region," he stated.
According to Kirby, the US changed the instructions for the Ukrainians and gave instructions on the use of ATACMS to hit "exactly these types of targets".
What preceded
Ukraine has long asked its allies to allow their weapons to be used for long-range strikes deep into Russia. For such purposes, Ukraineʼs arsenal includes, in particular, American ATACMS surface-to-surface long-range missiles and British Storm Shadow long-range missiles.
On November 17, the NYT newspaper reported on the permission to beat ATACMS on the territory of Russia. She wrote that this is Joe Bidenʼs response to Russiaʼs decision to send North Korean troops into battle. The publication Axios writes that long-range ATACMS were allowed to strike only in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation
The High Representative of the EU for foreign policy Josep Borrell confirmed that the USA allowed Ukraine to strike on Russian territory to a depth of up to 300 km. And on November 19, Brian Nichols, the US Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, confirmed the information about the permission to strike.
On the same day, a number of media reported that Ukraine had used American long-range ATACMS missiles for the first time to attack Russia. However, they wrote about the use of ATACMS in a warehouse with ammunition in the Bryansk region, not in the Kursk region.
The Ukrainian side did not confirm this, but neither did it deny it.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote that on the night of November 19, the Ukrainian military struck the arsenal of the 1046 logistics center in the area of the city of Karachev in the Bryansk region. They did not specify what kind of weapon was used to beat them.
And later, the Ministry of Defense of Russia declared that Ukraine attacked Russian territory with ATACMS missiles. Allegedly, six rockets were launched in Bryansk region, fragments of which fell on the technical territory of a military facility in Bryansk region, and a fire broke out there.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, when asked by journalists whether Ukraine really hit Bryansk region with an ATACMS missile, answered: "Without any extra details.”
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