Russian military downs 14 Western-made missiles

News Desk :: The Russian military overnight downed over a dozen Western-supplied ballistic and cruise missiles launched by the Ukrainian troops Russian anti-aircraft defenses have repelled a large-scale Ukrainian attack on Bryansk Region, downing a dozen Western-supplied missiles and over 30 drones, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Tuesday.

The ministry reported the details of the overnight attack in its daily briefing, stating that Ukrainian forces used six US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles and six Franco-British Storm Shadow cruise missiles. Some 31 fixed-wing kamikaze drones were also used in the attack, it added.

All the projectiles were intercepted by anti-aircraft defenses, the military said, adding that two other Storm Shadow missiles were shot down over the Black Sea. The missiles appeared to be heading for the Crimean Peninsula, one of the main targets of Ukrainian long-range attacks during the conflict with Russia.

During the attack, some 42 private homes were damaged and one completely destroyed by falling debris of the shot-down missiles, Bryansk governor Aleksandr Bogomaz has said. No one was injured during the strike, he added.

According to media reports, the attack on Bryansk Region appeared to target the town of Seltso, which lies just to the northwest of the regional capital and hosts a major chemical plant.

Ukrainian forces have repeatedly staged long-range attacks on Russian soil in recent weeks using Western-supplied ballistic and cruise missiles. Kiev began using the weaponry to target internationally-recognized Russian territory late last year, after several of its Western backers lifted restrictions on the use of long-range systems they had been supplying.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that the attacks make the US-led NATO military bloc a direct party to the conflict, pointing out that Kiev would not be able to use such sophisticated systems without the involvement of Western specialists.