Crimea Video Shows 'Massive' ATACMS Strike on Belbek Airbase

Ukraine used U.S-supplied missiles in an attack that sparked blazes at a Russian military air base in Crimea, according to reports.

The Astra Telegram channel posted images of flames at the Belbek airfield near the city of Sevastopol following the strikes overnight Tuesday.

Belbek airfield has been operated by the Russian defense ministry since Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

The ministry said its air defense systems destroyed 10 ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) operational-tactical missiles over the occupied Crimean Peninsula, which has seen an increase in Ukrainian strikes recently, state news agency Tass reported.

The U.S. said in April that Washington had secretly supplied a "significant number" of ATACMS to Ukraine, putting all of Russia's military sites in Crimea in the crosshairs of Kyiv's forces.

TASS also said that Ukraine had used American HARM anti-radar missiles, French Hammer guided bombs, large-caliber rockets and aircraft-type drones, but all "were thwarted."

Other reports on social media citing local residents who had heard explosions said around 20 missiles had been launched.

Open-source X user OSINT Technical posted NASA satellite images, which the account said showed large fires raging at the airfield located more than 160 miles from the frontline in Ukraine.

"Ukrainian forces reportedly carried out a massive missile strike on Belbek Airbase in Russian occupied Crimea, utilizing MGM-140 ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles," the account said. "Russian sources report numerous explosions in the area."

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.

It was not the only overnight strike on a Russian target. Drones launched by Ukraine's military intelligence (GUR) struck an oil depot in the Rostov region of Russia in the latest attack on an energy facility in the country, a source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent.

The governor of the Rostov region, Vasily Golubev, had said two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) hit a refinery in the Proletarsky district, causing two explosions, although he said there was no fire or casualties.

Ukrainian forces have stepped up their drone strikes targeting Russia's oil industry, although Kyiv often does not claim direct responsibility for the attacks, which are also in retaliation for Moscow's strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

The attacks come as Politico reports that Ukrainian officials were in Washington to try to convince the U.S. to allow Kyiv to strike Russian territory with U.S.-supplied weapons.

The U.S. wants to prevent an escalation of the war and has advised Kyiv not to use weapons it has supplied to attack Russia, but this has prevented Ukraine from attacking Russian troops massing near Kharkiv, the Ukrainian border region where Moscow's troops have launched a new offensive.

Update 05/15/24, 4:52 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further information.