Russia launches missiles at Kharkiv after allowing 'attack on US mainland'

Ukraine, Drone Attacks on Energy Facilities in Russia

Shortly after reports emerged that U.S. President Joe Biden had granted limited permission for the use of U.S.-supplied weapons to conduct airstrikes on Russian mainland, Russia launched a missile attack on Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine.

On January 23 (local time), Ukrainian rescue workers conducted rescue operations at a residential building in Kharkiv destroyed by a Russian missile attack.
[Photo by EPA Yonhap News]

Authorities in Kharkiv Oblast reported that in the early hours of the 31st (local time), five Russian S-300 and S-400 missiles struck Novobarsky, a border area of Kharkiv Oblast, damaging 20 buildings including a five-story residential building.

Four bodies were found in the destroyed buildings, and about 25 people were injured.

Ukraine’s state news agency Ukrinform reported that more people trapped under the rubble may increase the death toll.

The timing of the attack appears to be just a few hours after U.S. media reported the 'permission for attacks on Russian mainland.'

American media outlets including Politico reported on the 30th (Eastern Time) that President Biden secretly authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied weapons to retaliate against Russian territory solely for the purpose of defending Kharkiv, which Russia has been heavily attacking.

A U.S. official stated, "President Biden recently instructed the team to allow the use of U.S. weapons for counterattacks in Kharkiv," adding, "This enables Ukraine to prepare sufficient countermeasures against Russian forces."

According to the Ukrainian daily Ukrainska Pravda, between the night of the 30th and early morning of the 31st, Ukrainian forces attacked oil depots in Krasnodar, southern Russia bordering the Black Sea, using drones, setting fire to three oil tanks.

Russian authorities confirmed, "We are repelling large-scale drone attacks from multiple directions in Krasnodar."

Additionally, on the night of the 30th, the Ukrainian General Staff announced that Russia-occupied Crimea was attacked with ATACMS surface-to-surface missiles. ATACMS is a long-range weapon with a maximum range of 300 km, supplied to Ukraine by the U.S.

Although Crimea was unilaterally annexed by Russia, it cannot be considered part of the Russian mainland.