Ukraine fires US-made longer-range missiles into Russia for first time

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine fired several American-supplied longer-range missiles into Russia, officials said Tuesday, marking the first time Kyiv used the weapons that way in 1,000 days of war .

The use of the Army Tactical Missile System , known as ATACMS, came as Russian President Vladimir Putin formally lowered the threshold for using nuclear weapons, opening the door to a potential nuclear response by Moscow to even a conventional attack by any nation supported by a nuclear power. That could include Ukrainian attacks backed by the U.S.

A Telegram channel affiliated with the Ukrainian military posted a video Tuesday that it says shows U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles being fired from an undisclosed location in Ukraine. The Associated Press could not independently verify the date and location the video was filmed.

According to a U.S. official, Ukraine fired about eight of the missiles, and just two were intercepted by the Russians. The official said that the U.S. was still assessing battle damage, but that the missiles struck an ammunition supply location in Karachev, a city of about 18,000 people in Russia's Bryansk region. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence assessments.

The developments marked a worrying escalation in the conflict that has repeatedly ratcheted up international tensions. U.S. officials recently expressed dismay at Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops to help it fight Ukraine, while Moscow seethed when Washington eased restrictions on the ATACMS in recent days.

The 1,000-day mark has magnified scrutiny of how the war is unfolding and how it might end, amid signs that a turning point may be coming with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump entering the White House in about two months’ time. Trump has pledged to swiftly end the war and has criticized the amount the U.S. has spent on supporting Ukraine.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine can sustain the war for a long time, analysts say, though Russia would be able to keep going for longer due to its vaster resources.

Ukraine’s forces are under severe Russian pressure on the battlefield at places on the about 600-mile front line where its army is stretched thin . Ukrainian civilians, meanwhile, have repeatedly been attacked by Russian drones and missiles.

Ukraine claimed Tuesday that it hit a military weapons depot in Russia's Bryansk region overnight, though it didn't specify what weapons it used. The Ukrainian General Staff said multiple explosions and detonations were heard in the targeted area around Karachev.

Asked at a news conference if Ukraine had struck the Bryansk region ammunition depot with ATACMS, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declined to provide any details. However, he said, “Ukraine has long-range capabilities, including domestically produced long-range drones … and now we have ATACMS as well.”

In a statement carried by Russian news agencies, the Russian Defense Ministry said the military shot down five ATACMS missiles and damaged one more. The fragments fell on the territory of an unspecified military facility and sparked a fire, but didn’t cause any damage or casualties, it said.

Neither side's claims could be independently verified.

Ukrainian service members hold candles during a memorial ceremony marking 1,000 days of the Russia-Ukraine war in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

Karachev is roughly 70 miles from the Russia-Ukraine border. Ukraine in the course of the war has been able to reach much deeper into the vast country — but with drones rather than missiles. For instance, Russian officials have reported intercepting Ukrainian drones over Moscow, which is about 310 miles from the border and most recently Izhevsk, a city about 900 miles from the frontier.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials reported a third Russian strike in as many days on a residential area in Ukraine killed at least 12 people, including a child.

The strike by a Shahed drone in the northern Sumy region late Monday hit a dormitory of an educational facility in the town of Hlukhiv and wounded 11 others, including two children, authorities said, adding that more people could be trapped under the rubble.

On Sunday, a Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions struck a residential area of Sumy in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people and wounding 84 others. On Monday, a Russian missile barrage sparked apartment fires in the southern port of Odesa, killing at least 10 people and wounding 43.

Zelenskyy said that the series of aerial strikes proved that Putin wasn’t interested in ending the war.

“Each new attack by Russia only confirms Putin’s true intentions. He wants the war to continue. Talks about peace are not interesting to him. We must force Russia to a just peace by force,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy told European Union lawmakers in a speech via video link that Russia has deployed about 11,000 North Korean troops along Ukraine’s borders and that the number could swell to 100,000.

He appeared in person at the Ukrainian parliament, where he presented what he called a “resilience plan” to dig in against the relentless Russian onslaught. He said he expects pivotal moments to occur in the war next year.

The plan outlines new approaches to army management, including the creation of a military ombudsman position and a new system of handling military contracts.

There are no plans to lower the mobilization age from the current 25, even though Ukraine is short-handed on the front line, especially in infantry.

Ukraine urgently needs to tackle its manpower difficulties on the front, but it can use the longer-range missiles in the meantime to slow the tempo of Russia’s recent advances, said Jack Watling, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, a London think tank.

“Ukraine’s partners can do little to change the character of the fighting on the line of contact, but by targeting capabilities that are currently giving Russia a battlefield advantage, time can be bought,” Watling wrote Tuesday.

Next year, Zelenskyy said, Ukraine plans to produce at least 30,000 long-range drones and aims to manufacture 3,000 long-range missiles, reducing its dependence on Western military support.

A fuller version of the plan will be presented next month, he said.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Western countries are debating further help for Ukraine — “more aid, more money we have to make available to them, particularly now that the North Koreans have come on board,” he said in Brussels.

Meanwhile, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola led a special plenary session on Ukraine marking “one thousand days of terror, suffering and unimaginable loss. One thousand days of courage, resilience and unbreakable spirits.”

“Your people are an inspiration to all who value freedom around the world,” she told Zelenskyy.

Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

乌克兰基辅——官员周二表示，乌克兰向俄罗斯发射了几枚美国提供的远程导弹，这是基辅在1000天的战争中首次以这种方式使用这些武器。

俄罗斯总统普京正式降低使用核武器的门槛，并启用陆军战术导弹系统（ATACMS），此举意味着莫斯科可能对任何受核大国支持的国家发动的常规攻击做出核回应。这可能包括美国支持的乌克兰袭击。

一个与乌克兰军方有关联的Telegram频道周二发布了一段视频，称视频显示美国提供的ATACMS导弹从乌克兰境内一个未公开的地点发射。美联社无法独立核实该视频的拍摄日期和地点。

据一位美国官员透露，乌克兰发射了约八枚导弹，其中只有两枚被俄罗斯拦截。该官员表示，美国仍在评估战斗损失，但导弹击中了位于俄罗斯布良斯克州卡拉乔夫市的一处弹药补给点。卡拉乔夫市人口约1.8万。这位官员因需讨论情报评估结果而要求匿名。

这些事态发展标志着冲突令人担忧地升级，并已多次加剧国际紧张局势。美国官员近日对俄罗斯部署朝鲜军队协助其对抗乌克兰表示不满，而华盛顿近日放松对ATACMS的限制则激怒了莫斯科。

这场战争持续1000天，使得外界更加关注战争的进展和最终结局。种种迹象表明，随着美国当选总统唐纳德·特朗普将在大约两个月后入主白宫，局势可能即将迎来转折点。特朗普承诺将迅速结束战争，并批评美国在支持乌克兰方面投入的巨额资金。

分析人士表示，俄罗斯和乌克兰都无法长期维持战争，尽管俄罗斯由于资源更为丰富，能够坚持更长时间。

在长达约600英里的前线，乌克兰军队兵力捉襟见肘，战场上承受着来自俄罗斯的巨大压力。与此同时，乌克兰平民屡遭俄罗斯无人机和导弹袭击。

乌克兰周二声称，其夜间袭击了俄罗斯布良斯克地区的一处军火库，但并未具体说明使用了何种武器。乌克兰总参谋部表示，在卡拉乔夫附近的袭击目标区域听到了多次爆炸声。

在新闻发布会上，当被问及乌克兰是否使用ATACMS导弹袭击了布良斯克地区的弹药库时，乌克兰总统泽连斯基拒绝透露任何细节。但他表示：“乌克兰拥有远程打击能力，包括国产远程无人机……现在我们又有了ATACMS导弹。”

俄罗斯国防部在一份由俄罗斯新闻机构发布的声明中表示，军方击落了五枚ATACMS导弹，并击伤了一枚。声明称，导弹碎片落入一处未指明的军事设施内并引发火灾，但没有造成任何人员伤亡或财产损失。

双方的说法都无法得到独立核实。

周二，在乌克兰首都基辅，乌克兰军人在纪念俄乌战争爆发1000天的仪式上手持蜡烛。（Evgeniy Maloletka/AP）

卡拉乔夫距离俄乌边境约70英里。战争期间，乌克兰已能够深入这个幅员辽阔的国家腹地——但使用的是无人机而非导弹。例如，俄罗斯官员报告称，他们在莫斯科（距离边境约310英里）和最近的伊热夫斯克（距离边境约900英里）上空拦截了乌克兰无人机。

周二早些时候，乌克兰官员报告称，俄罗斯在三天内第三次袭击乌克兰居民区，造成至少 12 人死亡，其中包括一名儿童。

周一晚间，一架“沙赫德”无人机在北部苏梅地区发动袭击，击中了赫卢希夫镇一所教育机构的宿舍，造成包括两名儿童在内的 11 人受伤。当局表示，可能还有更多人被困在废墟下。

周日，一枚携带集束弹药的俄罗斯弹道导弹击中了乌克兰北部苏梅市的一个居民区，造成11人死亡，84人受伤。周一，俄罗斯导弹袭击了南部港口城市敖德萨，引发公寓楼火灾，造成至少10人死亡，43人受伤。

泽连斯基表示，这一系列空袭证明普京对结束战争没有兴趣。

泽连斯基说：“俄罗斯的每一次新袭击都只会证实普京的真实意图。他想让战争继续下去。和平谈判对他来说毫无意义。我们必须用武力迫使俄罗斯接受公正的和平。”

泽连斯基通过视频连线向欧盟议员发表讲话称，俄罗斯已在乌克兰边境部署了约 11,000 名朝鲜士兵，而且这一数字可能会增加到 100,000 人。

他亲自出席了乌克兰议会，并在那里提出了他所谓的“韧性计划”，旨在抵御俄罗斯持续不断的进攻。他表示，预计明年战争将出现关键性时刻。

该计划概述了军队管理的新方法，包括设立军事监察员职位和建立新的军事合同处理制度。

尽管乌克兰前线兵力短缺，尤其是步兵，但目前还没有将动员年龄从 25 岁降低的计划。

伦敦智库皇家联合军种研究所的分析师杰克·沃特林表示，乌克兰迫切需要解决前线的人力短缺问题，但与此同时，它可以利用远程导弹减缓俄罗斯近期推进的步伐。

沃特林周二写道：“乌克兰的伙伴们对改变接触线上的战斗性质无能为力，但通过打击目前为俄罗斯提供战场优势的能力，可以争取时间。”

泽连斯基表示，乌克兰计划明年生产至少3万架远程无人机，并计划制造3000枚远程导弹，以减少对西方军事支持的依赖。

他表示，更完整的计划版本将于下个月公布。

北约秘书长马克·吕特表示，西方国家正在讨论向乌克兰提供更多援助——“我们需要向他们提供更多援助，更多资金，尤其是在朝鲜也加入进来之后，”他在布鲁塞尔说。

与此同时，欧洲议会主席罗伯塔·梅佐拉主持召开了一次关于乌克兰局势的特别全体会议，纪念“一千天的恐怖、苦难和难以想象的损失，以及一千天的勇气、韧性和不屈不挠的精神”。

她对泽连斯基说：“你们的人民激励着全世界所有珍视自由的人们。”

美联社驻布鲁塞尔记者洛恩·库克对本报道亦有贡献。