Putin calls US supply of ATACMS weapons to Ukraine ‘another mistake’

Russian president makes first public comments since Ukrainian strikes on airfields in Russian-held territory

• Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates

Vladimir Putin has called the US delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Kyiv “another mistake by the United States” in his first public comments since an unprecedented Ukrainian strike destroyed helicopters at two airfields in Russian-occupied territory this week.

The Russian president also claimed that the delivery of the army tactical missile system (ATACMS) missiles, which can strike targets more than 100 miles away and deliver salvoes with cluster munitions, would “not do Ukraine any good either. It will simply prolong [their] agony.”