Russia vows retaliation after Ukrainian strike

MOSCOW — Russia will "definitely" respond to a Ukrainian attack on a southern airfield using US-supplied ATACMS missiles, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

Ukrainian forces on Wednesday launched a missile strike with Western high-precision weapons on the Taganrog military airfield in the Rostov region, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Six US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles were used, the ministry noted.

A response "will follow when, and in a way that is deemed, appropriate. It will definitely follow," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

Russia had decried that the US has pledged a $20 billion loan to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets as "theft".

The US announced a day earlier that it would disburse the loan, as part of a $50 billion G7 support package.

Moscow's foreign ministry on Wednesday called the move "banal theft" that "will not go unanswered", saying that Russia had "sufficient capacity and leverage to retaliate by seizing Western assets under its jurisdiction".

The money forms a large part of the new loans finalized by the G7 to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia. It follows long talks between Washington and its allies about the optimal way to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.

During phone talks between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, Orban spoke with Putin about achieving a sustainable peace settlement regarding Ukraine, while Putin mentioned obstacles to peace such as the Ukrainian law that "essentially prohibits the current presidential administration from negotiating peace" with Russia.

Peace prospects

Orban, who holds the European Union's rotating presidency, said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had "rejected" a proposal for a Christmas cease-fire in the fight with Russia.

Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia fully supports the peace initiative and a prisoner exchange proposed by Orban.

However, according to Ukraine's presidency, Kyiv denies having discussed a Christmas cease-fire with Orban. Meanwhile, Zelensky blasted Orban for talking to the Kremlin leader, saying it risked "undermining European unity against Russia".

"No one should boost (their) personal image at the expense of unity; everyone should focus on shared success," Zelensky said in a post on X.

Agencies - Xinhua