Russia vows retribution after Ukraine targets military airfield with ATACMS missiles

Russia on Wednesday vowed retribution against Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of firing Western-supplied missiles at a military airfield in its southern Rostov region.

President Vladimir Putin has previously threatened to launch a hypersonic ballistic missile at Kyiv if Ukraine continued its attacks on Russian territory using U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles. A U.S. official also suggested Russia might soon target Ukraine with another of its new Oreshnik missiles.

Hours after Ukraine’s overnight attack, Russia claimed it had recaptured territory in the western Kursk region, which Ukraine has been occupying in parts. Putin told Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban that Kyiv’s “destructive” approach made peace negotiations impossible.

Ukraine on edge after Oreshnik missile

Kyiv remains on edge after Russia launched a nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile at Dnipro last month, marking a significant escalation in the nearly three-year conflict. Putin justified the strike as retaliation for Ukraine’s use of U.S. ATACMS and British Storm Shadow long-range missiles on Russian territory.

In the latest attack, Russia’s defense ministry reported that Ukraine fired six ATACMS missiles at a military airfield in Taganrog, a port city in the Rostov region. Two missiles were intercepted by the Pantsir air defense system, while others were deflected by electronic warfare equipment. No military personnel were reported injured, but falling shrapnel caused minor damage to military vehicles and buildings.

Russia warned that the attack would not go unanswered, with the ministry stating that “appropriate measures will be taken.” A U.S. official, speaking anonymously, indicated that Russia may soon launch another experimental Oreshnik missile at Ukraine.

Ukraine strikes Russian targets

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the “tangible blows against Russian targets” from the overnight strikes. On Telegram, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine had hit “military facilities on Russian territory, as well as fuel and energy facilities supporting aggression against our state and people.”

Ukraine’s general staff claimed responsibility for hitting an oil depot in Russia’s Bryansk region during the overnight strikes. Videos from the Bryansk region purportedly showed a fireball lighting up the night sky, accompanied by air raid sirens in Rostov.

Both sides have increased aerial attacks in recent weeks, aiming to improve their battlefield positions as ceasefire talks grow more urgent ahead of the U.S. presidential transition.

Toll in Zaporizhzhia rises

Ukrainian officials confirmed Wednesday that the death toll from a Russian missile strike on Zaporizhzhia had risen to nine. Russia also claimed it had recaptured two villages in the western Kursk region, where Ukraine has been conducting a cross-border offensive since August.

Hungary’s Orban, who met U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Florida earlier this week, held a call with Putin on Wednesday to discuss the Ukraine conflict, drawing criticism from Kyiv. During the call, Putin condemned Ukraine’s “destructive” position, dismissing any possibility of an agreement between Moscow and Kyiv.

Zelenskyy slams Hungary’s Orban

The Kremlin said Orban had shown interest in helping find a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.

However, Zelenskyy criticized Orban for engaging with Putin, warning that such actions could undermine European unity against Russia. In a post on X, Zelenskyy stressed that “Unity in Europe has always been key to achieving success.”