Ukraine fires ATACMS carrying cluster bombs at Russian airport

Video footage compiled on social media shows five ATACMS missiles attacking a Russian airport.

According to The War Zone, Ukraine launched its first attack on an airport on Russian territory using short-range ballistic missiles ATACMS provided by the US on November 25. The target was Khalino airport, about 100 km from the border, media sources and on Telegram said. This could be the third time Ukraine fired ATACMS into Russian territory in just one week, after the US government gave the green light.

Satellite imagery obtained by The War Zone shows no obvious serious damage at the airport, but parts of the image are obscured, leaving many important areas unobserved. The number of aircraft at the base is also very limited, as the airport has not been used as a main operating base for the Russian air force for a long time.

Videos and images circulating on social media show cluster bomb explosions from a variant of the ATACMS missile at the airport.

Image and location of the Russian airport at the time of the attack.

According to Telegram ASTRA, Ukraine used 7 ATACMS missiles and 12 UAVs in the attack. At least one missile reportedly hit the airport. Meanwhile, according to the Fighterbomber channel, Ukraine attacked an airport in the Kursk region with 8 ATACMS missiles.

" The target remains unclear, as there are no aircraft stationed there, and the airport cannot be destroyed by such attacks ," they added.

Although several missiles were shot down, ASTRA said at least one missile hit Khalino airport, injuring two soldiers. A private house was also damaged.

“ At night, ATACMS cluster bombs hit the Khalino airfield in the Kursk region. Footage of the attack and its geographical location, published by Ukrainian TV channels, also showed a characteristic image of the explosion of M74 cluster bombs on the ground of the airbase ,” the Telegram channel Russian Military Informant reported.

Khalino airport location, about 100 km from the border.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said targets in Kursk were among those in Russia attacked by its forces on November 25, but did not specify what the targets in Kursk were or how they were attacked.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that seven drones were shot down in the skies over Kursk.

Some US officials believe that Russia has moved aviation assets away from the airport within range of ATACMS.

The weapon was first used two days after the Biden administration reportedly gave Ukraine the green light to strike Russian territory. The attack hit an ammunition storage facility near the town of Karachev in the Bryansk region of western Russia, about 110 kilometers from the border. The ATACMS short-range ballistic missile can hit targets up to more than 300 kilometers away.

The Khalino attack came more than a day after Ukraine reportedly used ATACMS to attack an S-400 air defense system near the village of Bolshoe Zhirovo in the Kursk region on November 23. The location is about 30 km northwest of the airport.

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/ukraine-ban-atacms-mang-bom-chum-vao-san-bay-nga-ar909797.html