Russian intelligence uncovered Ukrainian plan to strike Russia with US, UK missiles, claims minister

Russia’s military intelligence has uncovered a Ukrainian plan to strike Russian indigenous territories with US-made HIMARS and UK-made StormShadow missiles, Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu claimed on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Defense Ministry Board in Moscow, Shoygu warned that using these missiles outside of the zone of a "special military operation" would imply "full-fledged" US and UK involvement in the conflict and would "entail immediate" strikes on Ukrainian decision-making centers.

According to the minister, Ukrainian troops attacked Russian positions in the battle zone 263 times since June 4 as part of their counteroffensive but failed to achieve their objectives.

Kyiv claimed early Monday that its forces had retaken control of eight settlements in the direction of Berdiansk and Melitopol over the past two weeks during the ongoing "offensive" operations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed in an evening address on Sunday that his country’s troops are “advancing, position by position, step by step,” more than a week after announcing that the country is taking "appropriate counteroffensive and defensive actions" against Russia on the front line.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported intense clashes, particularly in the settlement of Piatykhatky, but claimed to have repelled Ukrainian forces.

Independent confirmation of the claims is difficult due to the ongoing war.​​​​​​​