Ukraine targets Donbass cities with Western-supplied missiles

Ukrainian forces targeted several locations in Donbass with Western-supplied missiles on Sunday, including the city of Lugansk, according to the local authorities.

Lugansk, the capital of Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic, was hit with at least eight ATACMS and four Storm Shadow missiles, regional head Leonid Pasechnik said in a Telegram post, adding that warehouses containing fuel tanks and residential areas were hit. He said air defense systems were able to partially repel the attack, intercepting at least four missiles, with the debris causing small fires on the outskirts of the city.

Imagery circulating online shows a thick plume of black smoke rising from what is said to be a fuel warehouse. No official information has yet been provided on any possible casualties. 

Russia’s ambassador-at-large for Ukrainian crimes, Rodion Miroshnik, wrote in a Telegram post that the Ukrainian military had probably attempted a “massive comprehensive strike” on Lugansk, but that air defenses worked well to repel it.

The acting head of the city, Yana Pashchenko, said several private residential buildings had been hit and that some roofs and outer walls had suffered shrapnel damage. She did not specify whether any residents had been injured.

Powerful explosions resulting from Ukrainian shelling were also heard in Donetsk and Makeyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, according to reporters on site. Footage circulating online of a large cloud of smoke and dust being propelled into the air purports to show a large explosion in Donetsk.

Kiev’s forces have repeatedly used long-range missiles supplied by their Western handlers to launch indiscriminate strikes on Russian territory. In June, for instance, Ukraine fired five ATACMS missiles on Lugansk, four of which were successfully intercepted. However, one missile made it through and heavily damaged a high-rise residential building, killing at least four civilians and injuring more than 20.