Kyiv and its allies were investigating whether Russia hit Ukraine with an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Thursday, in what would be the first use of such a weapon in combat and, according to the European Union, a “clear escalation” by Moscow.
The Kremlin declined to comment on claims from the Ukrainian air force that a nuclear-capable ICBM launched from Russia’s southern Astrakhan region was one of the weapons used in a large-scale air attack on the city of Dnipro and surrounding areas in eastern Ukraine before dawn on Thursday.
The strike came just hours after Ukraine reportedly hit Russian territory with British Storm Shadow cruise missiles for the first time, and a day after it launched its first attack on Russia with US Atacms ballistic missiles having finally receiving long-requested clearance for such a move from the White House. Russian president Vladimir Putin responded by lowering the threshold for a Russian nuclear strike on an adversary.
“Our insane neighbour has once again revealed its true nature – its disdain for dignity, freedom and human life itself. And, most of all, its fear. Fear so overwhelming that it unleashes missile after missile, scouring the globe for more weapons,” said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
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“Today it was a new Russian missile. Its speed and altitude suggest intercontinental ballistic capabilities. Investigations are ongoing. It’s clear that (Vladimir) Putin is using Ukraine as a testing ground.”
Ukrainian media quoted “informed sources” as saying the weapon used was an RS-26 “Rubezh” missile which has a range of 5,800km. Several international media outlets quoted unnamed western officials as saying the strike on Dnipro did not involve an ICBM, however.
“While we’re assessing the full facts it’s obvious that such [an] attack would mark yet another clear escalation from the side of Putin,” said European Commission spokesman Peter Stano.
French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said Paris had “not yet had confirmation” of whether an ICBM was fired. “It’s clear that if this launch is confirmed it would be an extremely serious event, and it would above all be a continuation of Russia’s escalatory attitude.”
British defence secretary John Healey said there were “unconfirmed reports...of Russia firing a new ballistic missile into Ukraine, which we know they have been preparing for months”.
Ukrainian officials said two people were hurt in the attack on Dnipro and an unnamed industrial enterprise was damaged. Russian military bloggers claimed the attack targeted a large arms factory in Dnipro called Pivdenmash, which Russians still call by its Soviet-era name Yuzhmash. At least 26 people were also injured in a missile attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih, Mr Zelenskiy’s hometown, about 150km west of Dnipro.
During a peculiar moment in a press briefing in Moscow on Thursday, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stopped to take a phone call and was overheard via her microphone talking to an unidentified man who told her: “About the ballistic missile strike on Yuzhmash that western media are talking about – we are not commenting at all.”
The US embassy in Kyiv reopened on Thursday after closing the previous day in response to what it called “specific information of a potential significant air attack” on the city. Several European missions also shut or scaled back operations for the day.
US president Joe Biden has pledged to send billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine before Donald Trump is sworn in as his successor in January. Mr Biden approved the delivery of anti-personnel mines to Kyiv this week to help it slow the advance of Russian troops in the east, in a move condemned by Moscow and some international rights groups.
