Ukraine has fired long-range cruise missiles supplied by the United Kingdom at targets inside Russia for the first time, British media reports.
Multiple outlets, citing sources familiar with the matter, have reported that the Storm Shadow missiles have been used.
A number of Russian war accounts on Telegram have also posted footage they claim include the sound of the missiles striking in the Kursk region. The videos have not been verified by the ABC.
Some 10,000 North Korean troops recently arrived in Kursk to bolster Russian efforts to retake an area of Russian territory held by Ukraine since August.
A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer declined to comment on the reports of British missiles being used, citing operational reasons.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov also wouldn't confirm what weapons had been used.
"We are using all the means to defend our country, so we'll not go into detail," Mr Umerov said.
"We are capable and able to respond.
"We'll be defending and giving punches back … with all the means available."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pushed Western allies for much of the war for permission to use long-range missiles on Russian territory.
Previously, the UK had cleared Ukraine to use military equipment it supplied only inside its own territory.
The Kremlin has said that using Western weapons to strike deep in its territory would mark a major escalation in the conflict.
Kyiv has wanted long-range capabilities to counter glide-bomb attacks from Russian airfields, to strike military command and control hubs, and target fuel and weapons depots.
Storm Shadows are low-flying missiles, making them harder to intercept than drones, and they can hit targets with precision over a range of some 250 kilometres.
The reported use of UK missiles comes after US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles were reportedly used on Russian soil on Tuesday, following US President Joe Biden's apparent decision to ease restrictions on their use.
Russia's Defence Ministry claimed on Tuesday that Ukraine fired six US-made missiles known as ATACMS at a military facility in the Bryansk border region.
The ministry said its forces shot down five of the missiles and damaged another.
It said no casualties were recorded.
Following the apparent use of the missiles, Russia lowered the threshold for its use of nuclear weapons.
Western allies have been concerned about an escalation in the war and the reported relaxation of rules around long-range missiles comes just a few months before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
He has repeatedly said he could end the war in a day, without detailing how.
The US embassy and a number of other European embassies in Kyiv closed today amid warnings of a major air attack from Russia.
Those reports were latter determined by Ukrainian intelligence to be false.
ABC/wires
