Putin says Russia ‘will be able to repel’ Ukraine’s new weapons used to damage Kremlin’s air assets

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Louise Thomas

Editor

Vladimir Putin said Russia “will be able to repel” attacks by Ukraine’s new long range weapons supplied by the US, which Kyiv used to launch one of the most damaging attacks on the Kremlin’s air assets since the start of the war.

While the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, result in an additional threat, the weapon would not change the situation along the 1,500km (932 mile) frontline, Mr Putin told reporters in Beijing. He said his forces will be able to repel attacks by the top-tier missile system.

“For Ukraine, in this sense, there’s nothing good… it only prolongs the agony,” the Russian president said during his visit to China.

Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said that Washington’s decision to provide Ukraine with ATACMS is “reckless” and “a grave mistake” that won’t alter the continuing war’s outcome.

On Tuesday, Ukraine said it used the ATACMS to destroy nine Russian helicopters, as well as ammunition, an air defence system and other assets at two airfields in regions occupied by Russia, marking a significant blow to Mr Putin’s military infrastructure.

While Russia claimed it is not majorly affected, experts have said ATACMS will shift the battlefield layout to some degree because it will create pressure on Moscow’s forces to disperse its aircraft and ammunition depots parked near the frontline and in the Ukrainian territories it currently occupies.

Russia has actively used aircraft to halt Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive.

For more than 600 days now, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has continued in stages of slow-grinding warfare and active fighting in eastern and southern fronts on the battlefield.

A protracted war of attrition is expected at least through next year as Ukraine seeks to push off every Russian soldier from its territory.

Russia and Ukraine are eyeing battlefield advantages alongside consolidating their positions ahead of the three months of slow operations as rain, snow and poor visibility are expected to hamper the movement of tanks.

The British defence ministry has said Russian forces are currently trying to push forward in some parts of eastern Ukraine. But these areas are well defended by Ukraine and it is “highly unlikely” the Russians will accomplish their goal of a major breakthrough.