US-Provided ATACMS Destroy 14 Russian Helicopters: UK

Russia likely lost 14 helicopters in strikes on two Russian airfields that Ukraine said it targeted with longe-range ballistic missiles fired from U.S.-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) this week, Britain's defense ministry has said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Kyiv used the ATACMS to strike Russian airfields in Ukraine's Luhansk region and the port city of Berdyansk in the Zaporizhzhia region on Tuesday.

ATACMS are capable of reaching targets 100 miles or more away. Tuesday's strikes marked Ukraine's first known use of the weapons.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense (MOD) said in its intelligence update on Friday that although the extent of damage is currently unconfirmed, it is likely nine Russian military helicopters at Berdyansk and five at Luhansk were destroyed.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry via email for comment.

The Kremlin has yet to comment on the reports of the strikes but on Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin called the U.S. delivery of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine "another mistake by the United States."

"War is war," Putin said. "And, of course, I have said that [ATACMS] pose a threat. It goes without saying. But what counts most is that they are completely unable to drastically change the situation along the line of contact. It's impossible."

British defense officials said that if confirmed, it is highly likely the losses of the helicopters will have an impact on Russia's ability both to defend its assets and conduct further offensive activity on Ukraine's southern axis.

"Given that Russian fixed wing close air support to date has been extremely poor, Russian defensive lines have become increasingly reliant on rotary wing support in the face of the Ukrainian offensive," the ministry's intelligence update said. "Berdyansk was being used as a primary Forward Operating Base on the southern axis providing both logistics and offensive/defensive capabilities."

"Given the current strain on Russian military production, the confirmed loss of any air frames will be difficult to replace in the short to medium term," the MOD said.

"This loss will also likely create additional pressure on Russia's pilots and air frames, already almost certainly suffering combat exhaustion and maintenance issues due to the unanticipated protracted campaign," it said.

The British defense ministry added that there is a realistic possibility the strike will compel Russia to once again relocate its operating bases and command and control nodes farther from the front lines, increasing the burden on logistics chains.

The British Royal Air Force said that Moscow had 899 helicopters at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. According to the latest figures from the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, which cannot be independently verified, Moscow has lost 324 helicopters since the war began.

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