The long-range ATACMS missiles, supplied by the USA, were first used on October 17th to target Russian military airfields in the occupied Berdiansk in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast and in Luhansk.
Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, stated that the first batch of tactical long-range missiles (ATACMS) provided to Ukraine by the USA had ‘exceeded expectations’ and that attacks by Russian helicopters had subsequently decreased as a result of the missiles. This was reported by The Kyiv Independent. “When we started receiving ATACMS, and the first batch that was there, and the use of the first batch – it exceeded all expectations. One should not forget that after that, the attacks have decreased, referring to the attacks from helicopters on our troops,” Danilov said.
Helicopters have “fled”
Danilov added that a significant portion of the Russian helicopters also ‘fled’ from the occupied Crimea. According to the British Ministry of Defense, the attacks might have damaged nine Russian military helicopters in Berdiansk and another five in Luhansk, but the extent of the damage is still unconfirmed.
Image: president.gov.ua, Робоча поїздка Президента України на Запоріжжя 70, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)
