The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that Ukrainian jets struck two industrial facilities in the Russian-controlled city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine with Britain-supplied Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles, Reuters reported.

Britain on Thursday became the first country to say it had started supplying Kiev with long-range cruise missiles that will allow it to hit Russian troops and supply depots far behind the front lines as it prepares a major counteroffensive.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the missiles could be used on Ukrainian territory, suggesting he had received assurances from Kyiv that they would not be used to attack targets within Russia’s internationally recognized borders.

The Russian ministry said that rockets hit a polymer factory and a meat processing plant in Luhansk on Friday.

“This attack used Storm Shadow air-to-air missiles supplied to the Kyiv regime by Britain, contrary to London’s statements that these weapons would not be used against civilian targets,” the ministry said.

It is also said that Russia shot down two Ukrainian military planes – Su-24 and MiG-29, which launched missiles.

In its latest bulletin, the ministry also said Russian forces had gained control of another quarter in the eastern city of Bakhmut, which Moscow had been trying to capture for more than 10 months in an artillery battle of attrition.

“Airborne units supported the airborne assault units and blocked the enemy from the flanks,” he said.

However, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in an assessment on Saturday morning that Ukrainian forces had retaken at least one kilometer of territory in Bakhmut amid Russia’s withdrawal, reflecting its “critical shortage of combat-ready units”.

The Ministry often uses the term “stormtroopers” to refer to the Wagner PMC mercenaries who led the assault on Bakhmut with extremely heavy casualties.

Reuters could not verify reports from the battlefield.

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