Ukraine uses US long-range missiles to strike Moscow-occupied territories

A Kornet shell used by Ukrainian soldiers on a captured Russian Kornet missile launcher lies in the woods, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, near Kreminna, Luhansk, Ukraine March 26, 2023. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura/File Photo

(Reuters) -Ukrainian forces used U.S.-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles for the first time, inflicting heavy damage on two airfields in Russian-occupied areas, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying on Tuesday that the weapons had "proven themselves".

The Ukrainian military had issued reports throughout the day about successful, high-precision strikes on airfields near Luhansk in Ukraine's east and in Berdiansk in the south, on the Sea of Azov, both under Russian control.