Image description
ATACMS. | AFP photo

Russia on Saturday said it had downed four US-made ATACMS long-range missiles recently supplied by Washington to Kviv over the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula.

The defence ministry said it had ‘foiled’ the night attack but did not specify if the falling debris had caused any damage.


In April, the United States confirmed it had sent these missiles to Ukraine, which had been pressing for them to strike targets way beyond the front line.

Ukraine used US ATACMS missiles against Russia for the first time in October, but the recently supplied versions have a farther range of up to 300 kilometres (190 miles).

Russia insists these missiles will not fundamentally change the outcome of the conflict.

Ukrainian forces have been suffering from ammunition shortages, partly due to months-long delays in US deliveries, which were lifted only last month after Congress finally approved an aid package.

Russia has added Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to its list of wanted criminals, a government database showed on Saturday.

Zelensky appeared in the Russian interior ministry’s ‘wanted’ list, an online database of alleged criminals sought by the authorities.

It stated that the Ukrainian leader was wanted ‘under an article of the criminal code,’ without providing further details.

There was no immediate comment from Russian officials on why Zelensky had been added to the list.

Moscow has targeted Zelensky since the start of its military offensive in February 2022.

The Ukrainian president said last year he was aware of at least ‘five or six’ assassination attempts against him had been foiled.

The day after sending troops into Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an address to the nation in which he called on the Ukrainian army to overthrow Zelensky.

Russia has placed several foreign politicians and public figures on its wanted list, which has tens of thousands of entries.

In February, Moscow said it was seeking Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas for what the Kremlin said was the ‘desecration of historical memory’ for the Baltic country’s move to destroy Soviet era monuments.

Last year the International Criminal Court (ICC) ordered the arrest of Putin on war crimes charges related to the abduction of Ukrainian children -- accusations rejected by Moscow.