Ukraine Uses U.S. ATACMS Ballistic Missiles to Take Out Key Russian Command Post Near Donetsk Frontlines

The Ukrainian Armed Forces reportedly successfully targeted a Russian command facility near Novopetrivka in the disputed Donetsk region on the night of February 24, which was achieved using U.S.-supplied ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the target was an auxiliary command post of the Russian 5th Army, marking the first confirmed use of ATACMS for an extended period following multiple reports of severe shortages. Ukrainian units launched near simultaneous attacks on ammunition depots, unmanned aerial vehicle control points, and a separate command-and-observation post in Donetsk. The attack on the auxiliary command post was reportedly part of a broader effort to disrupt Russian command-and-control networks and degrade operational coordination. 

Ukraine first received ATACMS in early October 2023, with their first confirmed combat use occurring on the night of October 16. U.S. officials the following day acknowledged that ATACMS had been provided and already employed. Deliveries were made following the failure of large scale Ukrainian offensives that were launched against Russian positions in June, with ATACMS providing an asymmetric means of countering larger and more capable Russian frontline units after the Ukrainian Army suffered extreme losses over several months. The ballistic missile system has been used successfully to neutralise multiple Russian targets, with examples having included the destruction of launchers and radars from S-400 air defence systems, the destruction of other radar systems, the neutralisation of Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile launchers, and the destruction of high value combat aircraft on their runways. Where prior attacks were focused on targets in disputed regions, the first ATACMS strike on internationally recognised Russian territory was carried out in November 2025.

The previous confirmed employment of ATACMS missiles by Ukrainian forces was recorded on November 18, when Ukrainian strikes targeted military facilities in Russia’s Voronezh region, meaning the latest is the first confirmed strike delivered using the systems in over three months. The United States has faced shortages of the systems, and is delivering them to multiple clients across the world including the Republic of China Armed Forces, where they are being deployed under joint American command facing the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. While HIMARS rocket artillery systems previously provided to Ukraine were limited in their ability to target frontline positions, as Russian electronic warfare systems seriously eroded their reliability, ATACMS can be used to strike strategic targets and command and control facilities far behind the frontlines which have less electronic defences. It remains uncertain on what scale the United States may have replenished Ukrainain stockpiles of the missiles.