Ukraine may have taken advantage of the US authorization to strike US weapons against military targets on Russian territory for the first time. Using the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) destroyed at least two launchers and several auxiliary vehicles of the S-300/S-400 air defense system in the Belgorod region, according to the Spy Dossier telegram channel.
The incident took place in the Korochansky district of the Belgorod region on the morning of June 2, Astra specifies. According to the telegram channel, the strike hit the location of the Russian military. Several units of military equipment were burned, three servicemen were injured.
With the help of S-300/S-400 complexes, the Russian military regularly shelled Kharkiv and Kharkiv region. For this purpose, they used anti-aircraft guided missiles.
Last week, the US and EU countries gave Ukraine permission to attack internationally recognized Russian territory with Western weapons. In the case of the US, the authorization concerns the use of HIMARS MLRS, artillery systems and missiles with a range of up to 70-80 kilometers on border areas from where Russian troops would attack Ukrainian territory. At the same time, Washington still prohibits strikes using ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers.
Kyiv received official authorization from Washington on May 30, after which The New York Times sources said that they expected strikes within hours or days.
Against this background, the Russian Foreign Ministry promised a tough response to the USA if Ukraine uses US weapons to strike Russia. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has repeatedly spoken out on this topic,” issuing “a very significant warning” that “should be taken with the utmost seriousness”.
In particular, Putin said that if NATO countries allowed hitting Russia with long-range precision weapons, it would be seen as direct interference in the conflict, since the bloc’s military allegedly personally prepares flight missions for such missiles.
“Representatives of NATO countries, especially in Europe, especially in small countries, they should give themselves an account at all of what they are playing with. They have to remember that this is usually a state with a small territory with a very dense population. And this is a factor they should keep in mind before they talk about striking deep into Russian territory”, Putin said.
