"Right now, they are able to use ATACMS to defend themselves on an immediate need basis. And right now, understandably, that's taking place in and around Kursk, and the Kursk Oblast," Kirby told reporters.
After the publication of the first reports that the Biden administration had quietly greenlit ATACMS strikes against Russia on November 17, officials in Washington spent days ducking the issue, with State Department spokesman Matthew Miller telling a news conference last Monday that he would "not...speak to or confirm any policy changes."
As recently as November 21, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Signh said she "still [didn't] have anything to announce or confirm" on that score, promising to provide an update "if there is more to share."
"We're going to continue to supply Ukraine what it needs. But I'd really refer you to the Ukrainians to speak to their operations," Singh said.
At the same time, US officials anonymously told US media that ATACMS had indeed been used against Russia.
The Russian military has been reporting for more than a week that its forces have been shooting down an array of ballistic and cruise missile threats, with the MoD reporting November 19 that the ATACMS had been used against a military target in Bryansk region, with Russian air defenses shooting down five of the missiles and damaging another.