Ukraine launched 31 devastating strikes on Russian territory with ATACMS and 14 with Storm Shadows

In mid-November, Ukraine received long-awaited permission to use Western missiles to strike Russia . After actively using them in the first days, today Ukraine has significantly reduced the intensity of missile strikes against Russia, writes The New York Times.

The missiles were effective, according to senior NATO officials, although the effect was limited and did not change the trajectory of the war. But the war also did not escalate as some feared.

Admiral Rob Bower, NATO's top military officer, recently said that ATACMS strikes had "severely hit a number" of weapons factories and ammunition depots in Russia, forcing Russia to move many of its logistical facilities away from the front, he said.

"They don't like ATACMS coming into their own country by air - they don't like it because it's effective. It limits their ability to fight effectively on the front lines, and that's what you want. Then the question is, is it enough to win?" Admiral Bauer said in an interview in early December.At the time Ukraine received permission to strike Russia, it probably had only about 50 ATACMS missiles left, two U.S. officials told the Times. There was no chance of getting more, they said. The limited U.S. supplies were already earmarked for deployment in the Middle East and Asia.

British officials, who followed Biden in allowing Ukraine to use British Storm Shadow missiles against Russia, also recently said they had nothing more to offer.

Citing data from the Russian Ministry of Defense and Russian military bloggers, the NYT writes that after receiving permission from its partners, Ukraine carried out at least half a dozen missile strikes on Russian territory, in which it used a total of at least 31 ATACMS missiles and 14 Storm Shadows missiles.

The most destructive attack was on November 20 by Storm Shadows missiles on a Russian command bunker near the town of Maryino in the Kursk region, officials and analysts said.

The NYT also recalls that on November 21, Russia launched a demonstrative strike with an Oreshnikmissile on the Dnieper, calling it a response to the strike on Maryino. And on November 27, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov, called Washington to discuss the risks of "escalation." After this call, Ukraine did not launch ATACMS or Storm Shadows for two weeks, the publication adds.

Some analysts say Ukraine has scaled back its missile strikes because it initially targeted Russian targets it had long wanted to hit. Now that it has fewer missiles left, Ukraine is holding them back in case it encounters a particularly juicy target.