The strike was carried out early on Tuesday, marking the first use of ATACMS by Ukraine, the Ukrainian Espreso TV website reported.
The United States secretly shipped the weapons in recent weeks, the Politico news service reported on Tuesday.
Ukraine has long asked Washington for ATACMS, which is a surface-to-surface guided missile capable of striking targets up to 300 km away, far behind Russian lines, according to news outlets.
In August, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held a phone call with US counterpart Antony Blinken, saying afterwards: “I thanked the U.S. for all the assistance provided and stressed the need to enhance Ukraine's long-range capabilities by providing ATACMS.”
The ATACMS is fired from the MLRS family of launchers, including HIMARS, which America had already supplied to Ukraine, Espreso TV noted.
"The delivery and use on the battlefield, confirmed by two people familiar with the move, marks a major ramp up of the administration’s defense of Ukraine, for the first time providing Kyiv’s forces with the ability to strike Russian targets far behind the front lines," Politico wrote.
America had transferred the ATACMS missiles to Ukraine “quietly,” to ensure that Russian forces would be taken by surprise, unable to “move equipment and weapons out of reach” before an attack, the US broadcaster CNN reported.
Ukraine strikes Russian military facilities in Luhansk, Berdyansk
Ukrainian forces launched the ATACMS missiles early on Tuesday, targeting a Russian ammunition depot, helicopters and military airfields near the Kremlin-held cities of Luhansk and Berdyansk, according to Espreso TV.
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces had earlier received intelligence about Russia’s use of airfields in Berdyansk and Luhansk, according to officials.
Sources confirmed the presence of a significant number of Russian aircraft, special hardware and ammunition in the area, Espreso TV reported.
In Tuesday’s attack, Ukraine’s special forces “successfully destroyed nine Russian military helicopters, an anti-aircraft missile system, and an ammunition warehouse,” according to officials in Kyiv, Politico reported.
Later in the day, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with military staffers to discuss Kyiv’s progress at the front, according to officials.
Zelensky said: “I am also grateful to those who are destroying the logistics and bases of the occupiers on our land. There are results. I thank some of our partners: effective weapons, as we agreed," as quoted by Espreso TV.
Tuesday is day 601 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
(pm)
Source: Espreso TV, Politico, CNN