Ukraine’s reported kamikaze drone attack on a Russian radar site earlier this month may have crossed one of Moscow’s red lines for potential nuclear weapon use — the “disruption of the response actions of nuclear forces,” per the wording of a Kremlin decree signed by President Vladimir Putin in 2020, before the war began.
Ukrainian drones reportedly targeted the 590th separate radio engineering center of military unit 84680 in the city of Kovilkino in the Mordovia Republic, some 360 miles from the Ukrainian border.
The site is home to a 29B6 “container” over-the-horizon radar, which forms part of Russia’s reconnaissance and early-warning network for aerospace attacks, including those by ballistic missiles.
Ukrainian media reports suggested that the site’s command post building was damaged during the attack. Russian authorities confirmed that two drones had been shot down.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated shortly.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.