MELITOPOL, October 17. /TASS/. The Ukrainian forces used US-made long-range ATACMS missiles in an overnight attack on the city of Berdyansk, in the Zaporozhye Region, the leader of the movement We Are Together With Russia, Vladimir Rogov, has said.

"In Berdyansk, the Zaporozhye Region cluster submunitions M74 of the US tactical missile ATACMS have been found," he wrote on his Telegram channel, without specifying the source of the information. He added that US and Swedish-made GLSDB bombs were also used in the strike on Berdyansk.

On Tuesday, emergency response services in the Zaporozhye Region reported a series of night-time explosions in Berdyansk. Russian air defenses reportedly intercepted the Ukrainian missiles. There were no immediate reports of casualties or destruction.

The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday quoted its sources as saying that a small number of long-range ATACMS missiles had been smuggled to Ukraine from the US.

The US has repeatedly stated that it is impossible to transfer ATACMS tactical missiles to the Ukrainian military. However, by the end of 2022, Washington’s stance began to change. Britain's The Times reported the Pentagon's "tacit consent" to more decisive and aggressive attempts by the Ukrainian military to carry out strikes on Russian territory. Another flurry of speculations about the possible transfer of ATACMS to Ukraine followed in September, when ABC reported the missiles might be included in a new package of US military support for Kiev. Reuters quoted sources as saying that the US presidential administration was close to sending ATACMS armed with cluster warheads to Ukraine. However, on September 21, US presidential national security aide Jake Sullivan said that US President Joe Biden had decided to deny Kiev these long-range missiles for the time being.