Ukrainian fighter jet fires on target in Russia for the first time | World News

“Although damage assessment is ongoing, it is confirmed to be a direct hit,” a Ukrainian military source told Sky News.

A Ukrainian warplane fired a weapon for the first time that hit a target in Russia, a Ukrainian military source told Sky News.

The source said that a “Russian command node” was hit on Sunday in the Belgorod region, in the west of the country. Russia.

Belgorod is close to the border with the northeast Ukraine.

It was not immediately clear what type of ammunition was used in the attack, or whether or not it was a Western weapon.

The United States and France recently declared that the Ukrainian armed forces are authorized to use their weapons to strike military targets in Russia, from where Russian forces launch attacks against Ukraine.

Under new guidelines approved by President Joe Biden, US munitions can be used on Russian soil to help defend the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine.

Lord Cameron, the British foreign secretary, was less specific, saying only that it was up to Ukraine to decide how it would use British weapons, such as the Storm Shadow cruise missiles that can be fired by Ukrainian planes.

'Direct hit'

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the military source told Sky News: “A Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) mission struck a Russian command node in Belgorod.

“Although damage assessment is still ongoing, this is a confirmed direct hit. This is the first UAF aerial munition launched against a target in Russia.”

Ukraine has launched several drone strikes deep into Russian territory. But the use of a warplane to strike targets in Russia could be seen by Moscow as a further escalation.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had shot down a number of Ukrainian drones in the Belgorod region. It was unclear if this was part of the same assault.

Ukraine also targets Russian ships

The Ukrainian military source also said that on Saturday evening, Ukrainian forces carried out a “coordinated strike” against a Russian landing ship that had recently moved to the Sea of ​​Azov from the Black Sea.

The ship became the fifth of seven Ropucha-class landing ships to be sunk or “rendered inoperable” by Ukrainian attacks, the source said.

“This successful strike shows the Russians that they cannot operate freely either in the Black Sea or to the east,” the source added.

The Russian military uses these ships to transport ammunition and supplies to the occupied city of Mariupol for transit to the front line, according to the source.

“By thwarting Russian shipments of munitions and critical military supplies, this strike will directly support Ukrainian troops in their ongoing fight,” the source said.

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Stealth plane targeted in separate strike 400 miles from front line

Separately, kyiv's main military intelligence service said its forces had struck a state-of-the-art Russian warplane parked at an air base nearly 400 miles from the front line, the Associated Press news agency reported ( AP).

It's unclear exactly what weapons were used, but the airfield's distance from Ukraine suggests it was likely hit by drones, AP added.

If confirmed, it would be Ukraine's first known successful strike against a Su-57 fighter jet, AP added.

It is a twin-engine stealth fighter described as Moscow's most advanced military aircraft.

Details of the latest Ukrainian strikes come after AP, citing a U.S. senator and a Western official, reported Wednesday that Ukraine had used U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia in recent days.