Russia has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into Ukraine for the first time, Kyiv has claimed.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said a missile “matches the speed and altitude” of an ICBM.
“Today, our crazy neighbour once again showed what he really is,” Mr Zelensky said. “And how afraid he is.” The Kremlin refused to comment on the strike.
Ukraine’s air force did not specify the exact type of missile, but said it was launched from Russia’s Astrakhan region, which borders the Caspian Sea. It said an intercontinental ballistic missile was fired at Dnipro city along with eight other missiles.
However, ABC News – citing western officials – reported that the weapon used was in fact a shorter-range ballistic missile.
Russia had threatened to strike with a “massive” new missile in retaliation for Ukraine using Western weapons. The range of an ICBM would seem excessive for use against Ukraine, such missiles are designed to carry nuclear warheads thousands of miles, but the use of one would serve as a reminder of Russia’s nuclear capability.
It comes as Moscow claimed Russian air defences shot down two British Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
The British-made missile – which Kyiv has been lobbying to use beyond Russia’s borders for months – was reportedly fired at a North Korean command centre in Russia’s Kursk region, beyond Ukraine’s northeastern border.
‘Storm Shadow strikes were aimed at North Korean command’ – report
Ukraine’s 413th Separate Unmanned Systems Battalion told ABC News that Wednesday’s strikes with British Stormshadow missiles targeted a command centre where North Korean generals and officers were believed to be present in Russia’s Kursk region
Images circulating online appear to show fragments of Storm Shadow missiles in the border area into which Ukrainian forces staged a surprise assault in August, taking a swathe of territory they still hold.
Approval for the use of the weapons is believed to have been given in response to the deployment of more than 10,000 North Korean troops in Kursk alongside Russian troops, in what UK and US officials have warned is a major escalation of the war.
Analysis of the wreckage in Dnipro will show if Russia deployed ICBM
Pavel Podvig, director of the Russian Nuclear Forces Project, stressed that this kind of ICBM strike alleged by Ukraine “might have a value as a signal”.
He wrote in a thread on X that one must be “skeptical and cautious” about the claims, adding: “Regarding the “intercontinental” claim, the distance from Kapustin Yar to Dnipro is about 800 km. It is not an intercontinental range.”
He added later: “Using these kinds of missiles, whether RS-26 or a true ICBM, in a conventional role does not make a lot of sense because of their relatively low accuracy and high cost. But this kind of a strike might have a value as a signal.”
UK ‘deeply concerned’ by ICBM reports
Unconfirmed reports that Russia may have fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into Ukraine are “deeply concerning”, Downing Street said.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman added: “As you will understand it is a rapidly developing situation and I don’t want to get ahead of our intelligence services who are looking at these reports urgently, but if true, clearly this would be another example of grave, reckless and escalatory behaviour from Russia and only serves to strengthen our resolve.”
Asked if he could confirm reports UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles had been fired into Russia by Ukraine, the spokesman said: “It is still the case that we are not going to comment on operational matters that will only serve President (Vladimir) Putin.”
Zelensky claims speed and altitude of Dnipro strike shows it was ICBM
The Ukrainian leader has insisted the latest Russian missile strike on Dnipro featured a weapon not used in 1,000 days of war.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, did not immediately comment on the air force statement.
Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are strategic weapons designed to deliver nuclear warheads and are an important part of Russia’s nuclear deterrent.
The Ukrainians did not specify what kind of warhead the missile had or what type of missile it was. There was no suggestion it was nuclear-armed.
How could the war in Ukraine escalate?
The latest suspected ICBM strikes come after the war has taken on a growing international dimension with the arrival of North Korean troops to help Russia on the battlefield — a development that officials said prompted US President Joe Biden’s policy shift on allowing Ukraine to fire longer-range US missiles into Russia.
The attack comes two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a revised nuclear doctrine that formally lowers the threshold for the country’s use of nuclear weapons.
Putin has previously warned the US and other NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied longer-range weapons to hit Russian territory would mean that Russia and NATO are at war.
And the new doctrine allows for a potential nuclear response by Moscow even to a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power.
While the doctrine envisions a possible nuclear response by Russia to a conventional strike, it is formulated broadly to avoid a firm commitment to use nuclear weapons and keep Putin’s options open.
15 injured in Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih
Two teenagers are among those injured after a Russian strike on Kryvyi Rih.
The head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram: “15 wounded in Kryvyi Rih.
“Among them are two teenagers. A 17-year-old boy was taken to hospital. Another 16-year-old was treated at the scene.”
He said a total of nine people had been hospitalised.
Two injured in strike on Dnipro
A 57-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman, were injured in Dnipro as a result of a Russian missile attack, early on Thursday morning, according to early information.
The head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration Serhiy Lysak said the rehabilitation centre for the disabled was damaged.
He added: “There is destruction in the garage cooperative. There was a fire there. 9 garages were mutilated. In addition, as already reported earlier, an industrial enterprise was damaged. And also two private houses. A fire broke out in one of them, it was extinguished.
“Previously, two people were injured. The 57-year-old man was treated on the spot. A 42-year-old woman was hospitalised. Communal services work at emergency sites.
“The National Police accepts claims about damage to property. Philanthropists helped people. They provide psychological help and materials for quick repairs.”
Video: Western official claims Dnipro strike wasn’t ICBM
There is some debate as to whether Russia did launch an intercontinental ballistic missile toward Ukraine, officials in Kyiv said after a Western official told ABC News that the attack did not appear to be an ICBM.
It was a ballistic missile which was aimed at Dnipro, the unnamed Western official said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment, saying questions about it should be instead directed to the Russian Defense Ministry.
‘ICBM fired by Russia was an RS-26 Rubezh’ Ukriane claims
A Russian intercontinental ballistic missile that Ukraine says was fired at the city of Dnipro on Thursday was an RS-26 Rubezh, Ukraine’s Ukrainska Pravda media outlet reported, citing anonymous sources.
According to the Arms Control Association, the RS-26 has a range of 5,800 km.
Ukraine’s air force said earlier on Thursday that Russia had fired an ICBM at Dnipro without specifying the type of missile.
Dnipro centre for war wounded damaged in Russian ICBM strike – mayor
Dnipro was the latest city to come under attack from Russia’s latest missile strike on Ukraine.
Borys Filatov the Mayor of Dnipro said on Telegram: “As a result of shelling, the building of the rehabilitation centre for the disabled was damaged.
“The boiler room was destroyed, the windows were broken. Information about people is being clarified.”
Source: independent.co.uk