MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. Ukrainian forces launched ATACMS missiles toward Russia’s Bryansk Region overnight, but air defenses shot down five of them and damaged another one, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"At 3:25 a.m. this morning the enemy struck a site on the territory of the Bryansk Region with six ballistic missiles. According to confirmed data, US-made ATACMS tactical missiles were used. As a result of an anti-missile battle, five missiles were shot down and one was damaged by crews of S-400 and Pantsir missile defense systems," the ministry said.

According to the ministry, the missiles fell on the technical territory of a military site in the Bryansk Region, causing a fire, which was extinguished.

"There are no casualties or damage," the ministry stated.

On November 17, the New York Times reported, citing sources, that US President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles for deeper strikes inside Russia. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols later confirmed this information. Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said some EU countries also authorized the use of their weapons for deeper strikes inside Russia from Ukrainian territory.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia’s updated nuclear doctrine stipulates a potential nuclear strike in response to Kiev’s use of Western-made conventional missiles against Russia. Earlier, he described the West’s latest decision as a "qualitatively new" round of escalation.