Ukraine targets Rostov in bold missile escalation

Russian airports and ammunition depots are at risk after Ukraine received permission to attack targets in Russia. The Institute for the Study of War identified about 200 targets within the ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles range.

ISW analyst George Barros emphasizes that Ukraine can attack command centers and mobile targets. Eliminating command centers could hinder Russian military operations.

The American newspaper notes that the Rostov region has the highest concentration of targets: at least four airports within the range of Western missiles, although some of them are civilians. Additionally, Rostov is a regrouping point for soldiers. They arrive via military aircraft, are equipped, loaded onto buses, and transported to Ukraine.

"A strike in the region could be devastating and scatter a key deployment ground for Russian troops," writes the WSJ.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian armed forces launched British cruise missiles toward military targets in Russia for the first time, Bloomberg reported. As it recalls, the Storm Shadow missile attacks were approved in response to Russia deploying North Korean troops to the war against Ukraine. According to the agency's sources, the UK government considered this move an escalation of the conflict.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the BBC, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense, reported that Ukraine launched long-range missiles toward Russia provided by the USA. The attack was said to have occurred in the Bryansk region. The strike happened shortly after Washington signaled that Ukraine had permission to launch ATACMS toward Russia.

According to the statement, Russia reportedly shot down five missiles and damaged another. The resulting fragments allegedly caused a fire at a military facility in the region.