MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. Combat teams of the Aerospace Forces’ air defense troops are engaged in drills across Russia to practice destroying American ATACMS missiles, former Russian Air Force Deputy Commander-in-Chief for CIS Integrated Air Defense Lieutenant-General Aitech Bizhev told TASS on Thursday.

"Combat teams of all air defense weapons in service with the Aerospace Forces are training on simulators as part of the combat preparation of the entire air defense system across the country," he said.

As the general pointed out, "today Ukraine has ATACMS missiles and tomorrow they may emerge in borderline and adjacent countries hostile to Russia in the northwestern, southern and other directions."

Earlier, the general told TASS that two Ukrainian army’s US-made ATACMS missiles destroyed by Russian troops were shot down by S-400 surface-to-air missile systems. He further said that the entire family of Russian air defense weapons, from the Pantsyr-S1 anti-aircraft missile/gun launcher to the S-400 surface-to-air missile system, were capable of destroying ATACMS missiles whose flight velocity did not exceed 1,400 m/s, which made vulnerable to Russian air defenses.