"This morning, January 3, another attempt by the Kyiv authorities to carry out a terrorist attack on facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation using the Olkha and Tochka-U missile systems failed. Six missiles of the Tochka-U system and six missiles of the Olkha system were destroyed in the Belgorod region," the Russian Defense Ministry stressed in a statement, according to TASS news agency.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Russian air defense forces in Belgorod province shot down nine missiles launched by Ukraine on the evening of January 2, according to RT.
There are no immediate reports of any casualties from the latest attacks. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the extent of the damage would be assessed during the day.
Cars destroyed in an attack that Russian officials said was carried out by Ukraine in Belgorod province (Russia) on December 30, 2023
Mr Gladkov also wrote on the Telegram messaging app that the situation "continues to be tense" in Belgorod, after Russia said 25 civilians were killed in attacks Moscow accused Ukraine of carrying out on December 30, 2023.
There is currently no information about Ukraine's response to Russia's accusations.
US lets Ukraine decide how to use HIMARS
As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said on January 2 that the Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will decide for itself how to use rockets from the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) provided by Washington, according to Strana newspaper.
Ms. Brink stressed that the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will "independently decide on the range of strikes to be carried out" using the HIMARS rockets that the US plans to provide "in the near future."
According to a February 9, 2023 article in The Washington Post , the Ukrainian military launched rockets from HIMARS using “specific coordinates provided by U.S. service members,” but they chose their own targets. The U.S. provided coordinates and targeting information “solely in an advisory role,” according to a U.S. official quoted by The Washington Post .
The US has sent Ukraine around 30 HIMARS systems since mid-2022, according to RT. The rockets for HIMARS that Washington has officially supplied to Kyiv have a range of up to 160 km. Ukraine has repeatedly requested missiles with a longer range.
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