Ukraine-Russia war latest: Ukraine hit Russian troops with long-range missiles 'US sent secretly'

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has confirmed our earlier reports that the US sent long-range missiles to Ukraine.

He also confirmed America will send more of the missiles.

Ukraine has lost territory over the last six months due to the need to ration ammunition, he said.

Ukrainian troops were under severe pressure on the battlefield and Russia could make further tactical gains, he warned.

The US can continue to supply Ukraine with aid throughout the year, Mr Sullivan added.

Kyiv will need much more than the $61bn approved by the US today for a fight that could last years, a military expert has said.

The funding will help triage Ukrainian forces, but success is not guaranteed, according to Bradley Bowman, a defence strategy and policy analyst at the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies.

Realistic goals for the months ahead include avoiding the loss of major cities, slowing Russia's momentum and getting additional weaponry to Kyiv that could help them go on the offensive in 2025.

 "In our microwave culture, we tend to want immediate results," Mr Bowman said.

"Sometimes things are just hard and you can't get immediate results. I think Ukrainian success is not guaranteed, but Russian success is if we stop supporting Ukraine." 

Ukrainian drones struck and damaged a major Russian steel factory overnight, a Kyiv intelligence source has told Reuters.

The source said the attack had partially destroyed an "oxygen station" at the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant in the Lipetsk region.

This would have a long-term impact on the company's work, the source said.

The news comes after Reuters reported Ukraine had struck two Rosneft-owned oil depots containing 26,000 cubic metres of fuel in the Smolensk region in the same night.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the US for recognising "we must cut the ground from under Putin's feet".

Welcoming the new $61bn in aid, the Ukrainian president said: "Regardless of what anyone says, we are gaining the support we need to continue protecting lives from Russian attacks."

He said the $1bn in military assistance approved to be sent today "include the exact types of weapons that our warriors require".

"I am grateful to president Biden, congress, and all Americans who recognise that we must cut the ground under Putin's feet rather than obeying him, as this is the only way to truly reduce threats to freedom. Together, we can ensure this."

Ukraine fired a US-supplied, long-range ballistic missile at a Russian target last week and overnight, the Associated Press reports.

They cited US officials as saying America secretly sent Army Tactical Missile System missiles in an aid package last month.

They were used to hit a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian troops in another occupied area overnight.

One of the officials said the US is providing more of these missiles in a new military aid package signed by Joe Biden today.

They give Ukraine nearly double the striking distance - up to 190 miles.

For months, the US resisted sending long-range missiles out of concern that Kyiv could use them to hit deep into Russian territory, escalating the conflict.

Separately, the vice chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff has said "the time is right" to provide long-range missiles to Ukraine.

They will help Ukraine take out Russian logistics nodes and troop concentrations that are not on the front lines, he said.

"I think it was a very well considered decision, and we really wrung it out — but again, any time you introduce a new system, any change — into a battlefield, you have to think through the escalatory nature of it."

After signing a bill worth $61bn to Ukraine, Joe Biden has immediately approved sending $1bn in military assistance.

The package includes air defence capabilities, artillery rounds and armoured vehicles.

 "It's not going in the Ukrainians' favour in the Donbas, certainly not elsewhere in the country," said White House national security spokesman John Kirby.

"Mr Putin thinks he can play for time. So we've got to try to make up some of that time."

Joe Biden is enjoying a "hard-earned victory lap" after signing a bill sending tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine, says US correspondent James Matthews.

This has been a political triumph in terms of pushing the legislation through congress in the face of "hard-right opposition", he says.

The president positioned himself as the "leader of the indispensable nation, leading a fight for democracy against tyranny".

Matthews adds: "Biden knows that this isn't the end of the story for Ukraine and American aid to Ukraine: there will be other negotiations further down the line.

"He and Ukraine will need to demonstrate there is value in American funds being channelled to that particular fight."

With an eye on the election, Mr Biden is trying to present himself to the public as the deal-maker who gets results.

Joe Biden has signed a bill providing £49bn in aid for Ukraine.

Speaking at the White House, the president says the path to his desk was difficult but in the end America "rose to the moment".

"Now we need to move fast," he says, adding equipment will be sent "within the next few hours".

This includes "equipment for air defence munitions, for artillery, for rocket systems and armoured vehicles".

He attacks MAGA Republicans for delaying the bill while Russia ramped up airstrikes against Ukrainian cities and "brave Ukrainians".

Russia has picked out and bombed hospitals, kindergartens, grain silos and the Ukrainian power grid, he says.

The Ukrainian fightback has been "amazing", says the president.

"They are a fighting force with the will and skill to win."

The president continues: "America is going to send them the help they need to keep them in the fight."

This is an investment "in our own security", says Mr Biden, and to prevent US being drawn into war.

"If Putin triumphs in Ukraine, the next move for Russian forces could very well be a direct attack on a NATO ally."

He adds: "We would have no choice but to come to their aid."

Russia's defence ministry claims its forces have hit a drone production facility in Ukraine.

No further details on the attack were given by the ministry, which added an army fuel depot was also targeted.

Overnight, a huge fire was reported after a Ukrainian drone attack on energy facilities in Russia.

This morning, Reuters news agency reported a Ukrainian intelligence source as saying the attack was part of a campaign against Russian military infrastructure.

The source claims Ukraine's SBU security service drones struck two Rosneft-owned oil depots containing 26,000 cubic metres of fuel in the Smolensk region.

Fashion retailer Hugo Boss is ending its presence in Russia after agreeing a deal to sell its business in the country to wholesale partner Stockmann - two years on from suspending operations there.

"As a result of the agreement, Hugo Boss will no longer be present in Russia with its own legal entity," the company said in a statement.

Along with many other retailers, Hugo Boss paused its business in Russia soon after the country's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

News agency Interfax reported Russia's government commission on foreign asset sales approved the deal, citing deputy minister of industry and trade Viktor Yevtukhov, with one of the conditions being that all jobs are preserved.

Hugo Boss did not reveal financial terms of the deal, but Russia demands foreign companies sell assets at discounts of at least 50%.