Ukraine has reportedly hit a Russian military complex in Crimea with U.S.-provided long-range missiles — the latest in a series of strikes targeting the advance of Russian forces along northern and eastern fronts.

The Wall Street Journal, citing an unnamed Ukrainian defense official, reported a missile strike Thursday night hit a communications center of Russian air-defense forces in the city of Alushta.

Also, Crimean social media channels reported several explosions in the coastal city, with one video showing a large blast; the extent of the damage was unclear, the Journal reported.

Multiple ATACMS —  Army Tactical Missile Systems — have allowed Ukraine to rattle Russia's hold on Crimea, focusing largely on high-value targets like air-defense systems, jet fighters, and warships, the Journal reported.

The outlet reported the long-range attacks are a central part of Ukraine's strategy to buy time to rebuild its military while damaging Russia's ability to wage war.

The strikes come as front lines in the north and east of the country are under pressure from increasing Russian offensives — including Russia's seizure of a handful of villages and the northern part of the city of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region earlier this month, the Journal reported.

Though Russian forces are inching forward to the east, they've only claimed one city — Avdiivka — this year, the outlet noted. But ATACMS provided by the United States earlier this year boosted the range, value, and number of the deep-lying targets that Ukraine can attack.

The Biden administration has barred Kyiv from using U.S.-supplied weapons, including ATACMS, to strike on Russian territory — making Crimea, a critical Russian staging post for the war, the main target, the Journal reported.

Some members of Congress have been pressuring the administration to allow Ukraine to fire ATACMS and other U.S.-made weapons into Russian territory. A ban, military analysts told the Journal, has impeded Ukraine's efforts to halt Moscow's recent invasion of the northeastern Kharkiv region.

On Friday, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said U.S. weapons were being used to strike "a wide variety of targets outside the conflict zone," though he didn't specifically mention Crimea or any other sites, the Journal reported.

• Zelenskyy Visits Kharkiv
• Putin Seeks Ukraine Cease-Fire on Front-Lines: Sources