Russia Says ATACMS Used in Taganrog Airfield Strike, Vows Retaliation

Russia vowed “appropriate measures” in response to Kyiv’s Wednesday morning strike on Taganrog in Russia’s Rostov region, where it said Kyiv used six US-made Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles in the attack.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed to have intercepted two of the missiles using a Pantsir air defense system and diverted the remaining four using electronic warfare (EW) systems, as per Russian news outlet Meduza.

“Missile fragments caused injuries among personnel. There was no destruction, but two buildings in the airfield’s technical area and three military vehicles sustained minor shrapnel damage. Civilian vehicles in a nearby parking lot were also damaged,” read the ministry’s statement.

It added that the attack “will not go unanswered, and appropriate measures will be taken.”

In the early hours of Wednesday, Rostov’s Regional Governor Yuri Slyusar reported that multiple explosions took place in Taganrog. Locals told Russia’s Shot Telegram channel that the attack triggered air defense systems and caused at least 10 explosions at around 4:20 a.m. local time.

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Slyusar said the attack damaged an industrial enterprise and burned 14 vehicles, but no injuries were initially reported.

Following the attack, local authorities, led by Taganrog Mayor Svetlana Kambulova, cordoned off the area within a one-kilometer radius for safety inspections. A boiler room on Tsiolkovsky Street was also hit, leaving 27 apartment buildings without heat, though heating is expected to have been restored at the time of publication.

Russian Telegram channel CHEKA-OGPU, citing comments from locals, said the local airfield was the intended target.

On Sunday, Dec. 8, the US Embassy in Ukraine issued a warning about “increased threats from Russian missiles and drones targeting Ukraine’s critical civilian infrastructure,” after a similar warning on Nov. 20, a day before Russia fired its “Oreshnik” hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile against Dnipro in Ukraine.

On Nov. 21, Russia fired the “Oreshnik” missile against Dnipro in Ukraine – the first use of its kind in history – after vowing retaliation in response to Kyiv’s first ATACMS use against targets in Russia’s Bryansk region four days prior.