MOSCOW: Russia said Monday its air defences had shot down eight ballistic missiles fired by Ukraine, amid heightened tensions over Kyiv’s use of Western-supplied long-range arms against Russia.

Ukraine fired US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles into Russia for the first time last week after receiving approval from Washington, prompting a furious reaction from Moscow.

“Air defence forces shot down eight ballistic missiles,” the Russian defence ministry said in a daily briefing, without saying what kind of missiles were used or where they were shot down.

Moscow and Kyiv have escalated their use of long-range missiles after the United States gave Ukraine approval to use the weapons against Russia.

Ukraine drones hit Russian oil energy facility: Kyiv source

Moscow fired an experimental hypersonic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro last Thursday, with President Vladimir Putin warning the weapon – which he called Oreshnik – could be used again in combat.

Adding to tensions, a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian border town of Shebekino on Monday killed a civilian, according to local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

The attack wounded another man, he said, while separate Ukrainian shelling damaged several apartment buildings.