Ukraine says Russia launched intercontinental missile

Ukraine says Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile overnight targeting the east-central city of Dnipro, which if confirmed would be the first time Moscow has used such a missile in this war.

In a statement posted Thursday on messaging app Telegram, the Ukrainian 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 says an intercontinental ballistic missile was fired at the city of Dnipro along with eight other missiles and that the Ukrainian army shot down six of them.

Two people were injured in the attack, and an industrial facility and a rehabilitation center for people with disabilities were damaged, according to local authorities.

Although the range of an ICBM seems excessive for use against Ukraine, such missiles are designed to carry nuclear warheads, and the use of such a missile would serve as a chilling reminder of Russia’s nuclear capability and powerful message of potential escalation.

The attack comes two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a revised nuclear doctrine that officially lowers the threshold for the country’s use of nuclear weapons. Ukraine fired several U.S.-supplied long-range missiles on Tuesday and reportedly fired British-made Storm Shadows at Russia on Wednesday.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that its air defense systems had downed two British-made Storm Shadow missiles, six HIMARS rockets and 67 drones. The announcement was made as part of the ministry’s daily review of military actions in Ukraine.

The statement did not specify when or where exactly this happened or what the missiles were aimed at. This is not the first time that Moscow has publicly announced the downing of Storm Shadow missiles, as Russia has already announced that it has shot down a few over the annexed Crimean peninsula.

These developments come as the war has taken on an increasing international dimension with the arrival of North Korean troops to help Russia on the battlefield – a development that US officials say has prompted US President Joe Biden to change policy by allowing Ukraine to fire longer-range American missiles. in Russia. The Kremlin responded by threatening to further escalate the situation.

Putin has already warned the United States and other NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons supplied by the West to strike Russian territory would mean that Russia and NATO would be in conflict. war.

And the new doctrine allows for a possible nuclear response from Moscow, even in the event of a conventional attack on Russia by any nation backed by a nuclear power.

Although the doctrine contemplates a possible Russian nuclear response to a conventional strike, it is worded broadly to avoid a firm commitment to use nuclear weapons and keep Putin’s options open.