Russian state-controlled media reported the claim on 6 March, quoting the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation as saying that ground-based air defences had shot down a single guided bomb.
Ukraine and its Western backers have demonstrated their ability to quickly integrate NATO weapon systems onto the Soviet-era aircraft operated by the Ukrainian Air Force, with the MBDA Storm Shadow/SCALP EG employed by the Sukhoi Su-24 ‘Fencer’ and the AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) carried by the MiG-29 ‘Fulcrum’ and Sukhoi Su-27 ‘Flanker’. It is likely that the AASM is now being employed by one of these three aircraft types.
The report came weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron said on 16 January that France would send AASM bombs to Ukraine as part of a wider support package that also included additional MBDA SCALP EG cruise missiles. If true, the TASS news agency report provides the first confirmation of their delivery and use.