Ukraine conflict: Russia claims to have been struck by ATACMS

Russia claims to have been struck by ATACMS on 19 November. (Lockheed Martin)

Ukraine has fired the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) at Russia, the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. In a statement reported by TASS state news agency on 19 November, the ministry claimed that six ATACMS missiles struck a military facility in Bryansk Oblast early in the morning.

It said that five missiles were shot down and a sixth was damaged by S-400 and Pantsir air-defence systems and that a fire broke out but was extinguished, with no casualties or destruction.

In a statement published the same day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) said that an attack was conducted in co-operation with components of the Ukrainian defence forces, causing a fire at the arsenal 1046 materiel and technical supply centre in the area of Karachev in Bryansk Oblast. It reported 12 secondary explosions and a detonation in the target area early in the morning.

The statement does not mention ATACMS, a spokesperson for the Public Communications Directorate of the AFU told Janes on 19 November and added, in answer to a question about Russian claims of having shot down ATACMS, “Russians always overstate their numbers. Do not believe them.”