US refrains from commenting after Russia says it intercepted long-range missiles

WASHINGTON

The US declined to comment Tuesday after Russia said it intercepted long-range missiles used by Ukraine to target facilities deeper inside its territory.

When asked about the matter, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters: "I just don't have anything to announce or to confirm at this time."

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed earlier Tuesday that Ukraine fired six long-range missiles above the border region of Bryansk and that its air defense systems shot down five of them and damaged another.

“Its fragments fell on the technical territory of a military facility in the Bryansk region, causing a fire that was quickly extinguished. There were no casualties or damage,” it said.

If true, it would represent the first attack by Kyiv using the US-supplied ATACMS missiles since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war 1,000 days ago.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy neither confirmed nor denied that Kyiv used long-range US missiles.

Washington had previously delivered long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Kyiv but prevented the Ukrainian military from using them to strike targets deep inside Russia.

As Russia pounded the Ukrainian border city of Kharkiv in May, US President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to carry out strikes within Russian territory, a first during the course of the over two-year war, to prevent attacks emanating from near the Russia-Ukraine border.

The president recently expanded those authorities, allowing Ukraine to use US-supplied missiles for "limited strikes" deeper within Russian territory in a major policy shift, The Washington Post reported Sunday, citing two US officials.

The White House and the Pentagon have declined to comment on the matter.

But Singh said thousands of North Korean troops have been deployed to the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukrainian forces launched a surprise offensive in August. Kyiv's forces have gone on to maintain their hold of territory there as the Kremlin continues to occupy about 20% of Ukraine.

Singh said it is possible that more North Korean forces could be sent to Kursk to further embed with Russia troops but said the "initial assessment" is that over 11,000 North Korean troops are currently there.

"We expect them to be engaged in combat. We just can't independently confirm that that has actually started. But absolutely. I mean, they're moving into that Kursk region for a very specific reason, which is clearly to engage Ukrainian forces," she added.