Crimean Air Defenses Hit by Ukraine ATACMS Strike: Reports

Ukrainian forces have reportedly struck Russian air-defense systems in the occupied Crimean peninsula.

Reports from X, formerly Twitter, indicate that Ukraine struck Russian air defenses with tactical ballistic missiles in Cape Tarkhankut, the western tip of Crimea. X account War Translate posted a screen shot of messages from “Russian channels” reporting the attack, which allegedly took place overnight.

“At night, the enemy attacked air defense system units at Cape Tarkhankut with ATACMS missiles, presumably with a cluster warhead,” a translation reads. “The enemy is trying to knock out entire air defense areas; intensified attacks are predicted against the backdrop of Kyiv’s attempts to organize information and combat actions for Victory Day and the inauguration of the Supreme Commander.”

Newsweek has been unable to independently verify the claims at this point, and has contacted Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine for clarification via email.

Ukraine previously destroyed a Russian S-400 air-defense system in Cape Tarkhankut on August 23, 2023. “Given the limited number of such systems in the enemy’s arsenal, this is a painful blow to the occupiers’ air-defense system,” intelligence officials from Ukraine said in a statement seen by The Kyiv Independent.

Earlier in April 2024, Ukraine struck a large Russian airfield in Dzhankoi, Crimea. “Today, the Ukrainian armed forces carried out a precise strike on the occupiers in Dzhankoi, on an airfield,” Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address on April 17. “Thank you, warriors. Thank you for your accuracy. Thank you to commander-in-chief [Oleksandr] Syrskyi for organizing this operation.”

That attack was the first time U.S. provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) missiles were used by Ukrainian forces. It is not yet known if the reported attack in Cape Tarkhankut used U.S. provided weapons.

The long-ranges missiles were sent to Ukraine earlier this year at the request of President Joe Biden. Department of State spokesman Vedant Patel said the delivery was initially not announced publicly “in order to maintain operational security for Ukraine at their request”.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed to reporters this week that a “significant number” of the missiles, which can strike targets up to 185 miles away, had been provided to Ukraine.

The supply of long-range missiles was originally dismissed by the Pentagon over fears that Ukraine could use them to strike targets deep within Russian territory, potentially sparking an escalation to the ongoing conflict. The Biden administration had previously supplied mid-range ATACMS missiles in September 2023.