kyiv (EFE).- The Ukrainian Army has made use for the first time of the permission received from the US and other Western allies to use the weapons sent to it against certain military objectives located within Russia, destroying an anti-aircraft system with a US-made HIMARS deployed in the Russian Belgorod Oblast.
“Ukrainian forces hit a Russian S-300/400 air defense battery in Belgorod Oblast, presumably with HIMARS, on June 1 or 2,” the Institute writes in its daily report on the conflict. for the Washington Study of War (ISW), which cites geolocated information from open sources to reach this conclusion.
The ISW adds that the partially destroyed air defense system was located north of the city of Belgorod, the regional capital of the homonymous oblast.
“The S-300/400 was located about 60 kilometers from the current front line in the north of the Kharkiv oblast (Ukrainian and bordering Belgorod) and more than 80 kilometers from the city of Kharkiv, which is within range. of the HIMARS but exceeds that of other multiple launch rocket systems” that Ukraine has, notes the ISW.
“A nice fire”
The destruction with Western weapons of a Russian air defense system was confirmed last night on her Facebook account by the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Reintegration of the Occupied Territories, Irina Vershchuk, who did not specify the type of weapons used in the attack.
“A nice fire. It’s a Russian S-300 (anti-aircraft system). On Russian territory,” said Vershchuk.
The message was accompanied by a photo of a unit of military equipment burning.
“First days after permission to use Western weapons against enemy territory,” added the vice minister.
The Russian offensive against Kharkiv
Ukraine has received permission in recent weeks from its key allies to hit certain military targets within the Russian Federation.
Since the beginning of the war, kyiv’s partners had prohibited it from attacking inside Russian territory for fear of possible retaliation from Moscow. This limitation did not include the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.
The United States has been one of the last to join the list of countries that lift the ban, although it continues to limit the use of its weapons to certain military objectives within Russia, from where the Russians attack the Kharkiv region.
The Russian penetration into that area of northeastern Ukraine triggered concern in the Western capitals and in kyiv, which began to demand with increasing vehemence to be able to neutralize at source with the weapons received, the Russian attacks against Kharkov, hitting concentrations of troops, planes, missile systems and other Russian targets.
