Ukrainian strike with U.S.-supplied missiles kills 6 in Kursk, says Russian official

Fri Dec 20 19:31:00 UTC 2024: ## Cross-Border Strikes Mark Escalation in Russia-Ukraine War

**KYIV, Ukraine (December 21, 2024)** – A new wave of cross-border attacks has intensified the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. On Friday, a Ukrainian strike on the Russian border town of Rylsk, using US-supplied HIMARS missiles, killed six people, including a child, according to a senior local official. This followed a Russian ballistic missile strike on Kyiv earlier that day, which killed at least one and wounded 13.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed the Kyiv strike was retaliation for a Ukrainian attack on Russian soil earlier in the week using American-made ATACMS and British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles, targeting a Rostov oil refinery. Ukraine confirmed the attack on the refinery as part of its efforts to target infrastructure supporting the Russian war effort.

The use of longer-range Western-supplied missiles by Ukraine into Russian territory has angered the Kremlin, escalating tensions further. In response to the Wednesday attack on Rostov, Russia claimed to have carried out a strike on a Ukrainian military intelligence command center and Neptune missile production facilities using high-precision, long-range weapons. These claims remain unverified.

The Friday attacks resulted in widespread damage in both countries. In Kyiv, the missile strikes knocked out heating to hundreds of buildings and caused damage to several embassies. In Kherson, Russian artillery shelling left 60,000 people without power. Further, missile strikes in Kryvyi Rih injured six people, marking the second consecutive night of attacks in President Zelenskyy’s hometown.

The escalating use of long-range weapons and the continued targeting of civilian areas highlight the growing intensity and widening scope of the nearly three-year-old conflict. The deployment of US-supplied HIMARS missiles deeper into Russia, authorized by President Biden last month, and Russia’s use of hypersonic missiles, represent a significant shift in the conflict’s dynamics.