It became known how the Ukrainian Defense Forces hit airfields in Lugansk and Berdyansk

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky confirmed Ukraine’s use of ATACMS missiles in an evening video message published on social networks.

He thanked the United States and said that long-range “ATACMS have proven themselves” writes “UK”:

“Thank you to everyone who fights and works for Ukraine! Thanks to everyone who helps! And today, special thanks to the United States. Our agreements with President Biden are being fulfilled. They are being carried out very accurately – the “attacks” have shown themselves.”

Previously the American edition of The Wall Street Journal reportedthat the US has secretly sent a “small number” of long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine over the past few days, and the Ukrainian Defense Forces have already used them to strike two airfields in Russian-occupied Luhansk and Berdyansk. The media platform Noelreports on the social network X published photos of missile debris, indicating that it was probably of the type “MGM-140A ATACMS Block I, M39 (A1?)”.

Earlier we wrote that on the night of October 17 at the Lugansk and Berdyansk airfields destroyed 9 helicopters. In addition, the runways were damaged and air defenses were destroyed. Dragonfly special operations to destroy airfields were carried out by the Special Operations Forces in cooperation with the Defense Forces.

Special operations forces received information about the enemy’s use of airfields in temporarily occupied Berdyansk and Lugansk and the presence there of a significant amount of aviation and special equipment and ammunition. The information provided has been verified and confirmation received. The coordinates and necessary data of the MTR were transferred to the units of the Defense Forces for destruction.

Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny on Tuesday evening showed the video launch ATACMS missiles.

As a result of the fire strike on the night of October 16-17 in Berdyansk and Lugansk, nine helicopters of various modifications, special equipment, an air defense launcher, an ammunition depot were destroyed, and airfield strips were damaged. The ammunition depot in Berdyansk detonated before 4 am, the detonation in Lugansk continued until 11 am. A video from Berdyansk appeared:

Ukraine has been asking the United States for months for long-range weapons to hit Russian occupiers in the rear, but Washington has refused due to concerns about Russian escalation and a shortage of these missiles for the U.S. military.

Great Britain and France, however, provided Kyiv with their own long-range Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles back in the summer, which Ukrainian forces effectively used in temporarily occupied territories, in particular in Crimea.

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