Ukraine launches US-made ATACMS missiles to strike Luhansk

Several explosions occurred in Luhansk on May 8, the Luhansk Information Centre said.

Photo: dvidshub.net by Дин Джонсон is licensed under public domain

Leonid Pasechnik, the head of the Luhansk People's Republic, said that the explosions took place as a result of a missile attack conducted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

An oil depot and a high-pressure gas pipeline caught fire and power lines were damaged in the attack. Residential buildings in the area of the emergency were partially de-energised. Five oil depot employees were injured and taken to hospital.

"Ukraine is trying to make up for its losses on all fronts by shelling civilian objects," Pasechnik said.

The head of the LPR noted that the Ukrainian military allegedly used ATACMS tactical missiles for the strike. Washington transferred ATACMS missiles to Kyiv as part of the latest military aid package.

On May 4, air defence systems intercepted four ATACMS missiles over the territory of Crimea. On 30 April, the Russian Defence Ministry said that six ATACMS had been shot down over the day.

ATACMS is an American tactical ballistic missile with a range of up to 300 kilometres. It belongs to the ground-to-ground class and is designed to hit objects located on ground and water surfaces, but it can also hit buried targets. As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated, Kiev intends to use such projectiles to strike the territory of Crimea. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that the USA would give Kyiv "as many missiles as it can".