Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile during an attack on Ukraine on Thursday, Kyiv’s air force has said.
“An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was launched from the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation,” it said, without specifying what kind of ICBM was fired.
If true, it is the first known use in the war of such a powerful, nuclear-capable weapon with a range of thousands of kilometres.
However, the Kremlin refused on Thursday to comment on Ukrainian allegations that Moscow had launched an ICBM at Ukraine for the first time.
Asked whether Moscow fired the missile, which is designed to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads and can hit targets thousands of kilometres away, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had “nothing to say on this topic.”
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.
But the Ukraine air force said the Russian missile attack targeted enterprises and critical infrastructure in the central-eastern city of Dnipro.
Regional governor Serhiy Lysak said the missile attack caused damage to an industrial enterprise and set off fires in Dnipro. Two people were hurt.
Russia also fired a Kinzhal hypersonic missile and seven Kh-101 cruise missiles, six of which were shot down, the Ukrainian air force said.
Defense Express, a Ukrainian defence consultancy, asked whether the United States, Kyiv’s main international ally, had been informed about the missile launch ahead of time.
“It is also a question of whether the United States was warned about the launch and its direction, as the announcement of such launches is a prerequisite for preventing the triggering of a missile warning system and the launch of missiles in response,” Defence Express wrote after the air force statement.
Reuters/AFP