WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine uses US long-range missiles to strike Moscow-occupied territories

Ukrainian forces used U.S.-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles for the first time, inflicting heavy damage on two airfields in Russian-occupied areas, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying on Tuesday that the weapons had "proven themselves".

The Ukrainian military had issued reports throughout the day about successful, high-precision strikes on airfields near Luhansk in Ukraine's east and in Berdiansk in the south, on the Sea of Azov, both under Russian control.

"Today, special thanks to the United States. Our agreements with President Biden are being implemented. Very accurately - ATACMS proved themselves," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

Ukraine had repeatedly asked the U.S. administration for ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems). Kyiv pledged not to use them inside Russia's territory but said the powerful weapons would alter the course of the 20-month-old war.

Deploying the weapons would allow Ukrainian forces to disrupt previously unreachable supply lines, air bases and rail networks used by Russia in occupied territories, senior officials said.

Ukrainian Special Forces, without initially mentioning the ATACMS, said that nine helicopters, an air defence missile launcher, runways and other equipment had been destroyed, and heavy losses inflicted on Russian forces.

There was no official comment from Russia. But a Moscow-installed official in partially Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia region, which is home to Berdiansk, said that cluster munitions from the ATACMS missiles were found there on Tuesday.

Earlier, Rogov said that Russian air defences had ensured that a Ukrainian air attack near Berdiansk was not successful.

Zelenskiy's comments mark the first confirmed use in Ukraine of the ATACMS, which can fly up to 190 miles (310 km). The country's Defence Ministry promised on X, formerly Twitter, that there would be "more news to come".

"As you can see, it is now possible to hit targets impeccably, with great precision, giving the enemy no chance," Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told national television.

Kyiv's Western partners have been careful about supplying long-range missiles needed for its four-month-old counteroffensive, fearing it would provoke the Kremlin. It is not clear how many ATACMS missiles Ukraine has.

ATACMS are designed for "deep attack of enemy second-echelon forces," a U.S. Army website says.

A NEW CHAPTER

Ukraine's presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said a new chapter of the war had begun.

"There are no more safe places for Russian troops within the ... internationally recognized borders of Ukraine," he wrote on X.

Russian military bloggers commented on the attacks during the day, with Telegram channel Fighterbomber saying Russian forces had suffered losses of personnel and equipment in strikes carried out with ATACMS.

Citing two unidentified U.S. officials, CNN said Washington had secretly delivered ATACMS to Kyiv. The Wall Street Journal said Ukraine had fired the ATACMS for the first time on Tuesday.

Since starting a counteroffensive in June, Kyiv has frequently attacked military targets in Russian-occupied areas, but it has failed to liberate significant territory from Russian occupation.

Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesperson for Ukraine's southern group of forces, told national television that there had been no letup in Russia's week-old assault on the devastated town of Avdiivka in the east, with Ukrainian forces repelling 10 attacks.

Shtupun also said Ukrainian forces advancing southward to the Sea of Azov had registered "partial success" west of Verbove, one of a cluster of villages it is trying to capture.

The Ukrainian military said Russia was hoping to advance as far as possible towards the town of Kupiansk in northeastern Ukraine before winter.

** Two civilians killed in Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia - Ukraine officials

Two people were killed and at least four wounded after an apartment building was destroyed in a Russian air attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia, officials in the Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine said on Wednesday.

"Search and rescue operations are ongoing at the site," Anatoliy Kurtiev, secretary of the Zaporizhzhia city council, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Yuriy Malashko, governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, said that eight apartments buildings were damaged in what he said was a Russian missile attack.

Malashko and Kurtiev posted photos of a five-storey building with windows blown out and the entrance destroyed and debris scattered around.

Earlier, a Moscow-installed official in the Russia-controlled parts of Zaporizhzhia, blamed the strikes in the city on Ukrainian forces.

The city of Zaporizhzhia is the administrative centre of the broader Zaporizhzhia region in southeast Ukraine, which is now partially controlled by Russia.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russia’s Shoigu estimates Ukrainian counteroffensive losses

The Ukrainian military is continuing its attempts to attack Russian positions along the frontline, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu revealed on Monday during a televised meeting with President Vladimir Putin and other top officials.

The continuous push by Kiev has been countered by Russia’s “active defense” and counterattacks, with the Ukrainian military failing to make any significant gains anywhere, Shoigu noted. Over the course of its counteroffensive initiated in early June, Ukraine has incurred significant losses, including the loss of “hundreds” of tanks, over 1,500 armored combat vehicles, and substantial personnel casualties, although Shoigu did not provide precise figures.

“The situation looks stable, solid. The troops are acting very professionally, exhibit heroism at many locations, displaying confidence not to only hold their positions, but to continue the realization of the plans we had outlined,” the minister concluded.

According to estimates cited by President Putin last week, Kiev’s forces have lost “over 90,000 people” so far during the counteroffensive. In recent days, certain Ukrainian officials have admitted the counteroffensive has apparently lagged behind schedule and might have gotten “stalled.”Putin, however, said on Sunday the Ukrainian push “has failed completely.”

** Russian forces destroy over 250 military helicopters in Ukraine operation

Russian forces have destroyed over 250 Ukrainian combat helicopters since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.

"In all, the following targets have been destroyed since the start of the special military operation: 491 aircraft, 251 helicopters, 7,953 unmanned aerial vehicles, 441 surface-to-air missile systems, 12,706 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,163 multiple rocket launchers, 6,802 field artillery guns and mortars and 14,372 special military motor vehicles," the ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine’s army loses 270 troops in Kupyansk area in past day

Russian forces repulsed seven Ukrainian army attacks in the Kupyansk area, killing and wounding roughly 270 enemy troops over the past day, the ministry reported.

"The enemy’s losses amounted to 270 personnel killed and wounded, a tank, 10 armored combat vehicles and three pickup trucks. In counter-battery fire, the following targets were destroyed: two Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery systems and two Gvozdika motorized artillery guns," the ministry said.

Units of Russia’s battlegroup West supported by aircraft and artillery fire repulsed seven enemy attacks near the settlements of Ivanovka and Timkovka in the Kharkov Region and Nadiya in the Lugansk People’s Republic, the ministry said.

Reuters/RT/Tass