Ukrainian defence forces made first use of a US supplied long-range weapon by striking two Russian military airfields, successfully destroying nine helicopters and an ammunition base.
Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, described Washington’s decision to supply the ATACMS as “reckless” and “a grave mistake” that will not alter the war’s outcome.
The Russian parliament has fulfilled the wish of President Putin by completing a bill that shifts Moscow’s legal stance on nuclear testing, to “mirror” the position of the US.
The Kremlin said the move was “the exclusive fault” of the US, while Putin’s entourage were pictured carrying his nuclear briefcase during a visit to Beijing.
This comes as Russian attacks overnight and on Wednesday killed at least five civilians in Ukraine and damaged the power grid in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials have said.
Two civilians were killed in a morning missile strike on a residential building in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, and a 31-year-old woman was killed in an attack on the village of Obukhivka in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk, they said.
Russia’s ambassador to the US warned on Wednesday that the Kremlin would issue a “serious” response to the provision of ATACMS to Kyiv.