Kiev accuses Russia of launching intercontinental ballistic missile attacks

Kiev accused Russia on Thursday of firing a non-nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine in what would mark the first-ever use of the weapon in combat and a sharp escalation of the conflict.

Ukraine said the nuclear missile had targeted the central city of Dnipro, and while the Kremlin declined to confirm it had launched the attack, it said it was doing everything to avoid a nuclear escalation.

The Russian missile barrage on the industrial city, which authorities said had wounded two people, is only the latest escalation since Ukraine this month fired Western-supplied long-range missiles at Russia.

The Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement that Russia had fired multiple types of missiles at Dnipro, targeting critical infrastructure, in the early hours of Thursday.

“In particular, an intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation,” the statement said.

A Ukrainian air force source confirmed to AFP that it was the first time such a weapon had been used by Russia since it invaded in February 2022.

The source added that it was “obvious” that the missile, which is designed to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, was not carrying a nuclear warhead.

– Kremlin declines comment –

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said experts were investigating the attack to confirm that an intercontinental ballistic missile had been fired by “our crazy neighbor”.

“It has all the characteristics – speed, altitude – of an intercontinental ballistic missile. It is obvious that Putin is using Ukraine as a testing ground,” he said on social media.

Asked whether Moscow launched the missile, which can hit targets thousands of kilometers away, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had “nothing to say on this issue”.

However, he said the Kremlin was making “maximum efforts” to avoid a nuclear conflict after it updated its nuclear doctrine this week.

The new policy allows Moscow to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states, and Russia said the move should be seen as a warning to the West.

“We have emphasized in the context of our doctrine that Russia takes a responsible position to make maximum efforts not to allow such a conflict,” Peskov added on Thursday.

While Moscow declined to comment on the attack, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman received a phone call during a live press briefing ordering her not to comment on reports of the ballistic attack, video showed.

“Masha,” said an unknown male voice on the phone, addressing spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. “On the Yuzhmash ballistic missile attack, which the Westerners have started talking about, we do not comment at all.”

Yuzhmash is the Russian name for an aerospace manufacturer in Dnipro – now called Pivdenmash – which produced missiles during the Soviet Union and is now reported to produce satellites.

Russian had previously claimed to have hit the sprawling facility in September this year.

The EU said the attack, if confirmed, would mark a “clear escalation” by President Vladimir Putin.

“As we assess the full facts, it is clear that such (an) attack would mark another clear escalation on Putin’s part,” State Department spokesman Peter Stano told reporters.

Britain, meanwhile, said the strike would be “reckless and escalating”.

Ukrainian air defense units shot down six missiles, the air force said, without elaborating on whether the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was among them.

– ‘Political value’ –

The head of the Dnipropetrovsk region, where the city of Dnipro is located, said the Russian aerial bombardment had damaged a rehabilitation center and several homes as well as an industrial plant.

“Two people were injured – a 57-year-old man was treated at the scene and a 42-year-old woman was hospitalized,” said the official, Sergiy Lysak.

Fabian Hoffmann, a researcher at the University of Oslo who specializes in missile technology, said Russia could have used other types of missiles – or even drones – for such an attack.

“This is about the political effect. It’s not about the military value,” Hoffmann told AFP.

Russia and Ukraine have escalated their use of deadly long-range missiles in recent days since the US gave permission to use its ATACMS against military targets inside Russia – a long-standing Ukrainian request.

British media, meanwhile, reported on Wednesday that Kiev had fired Storm Shadow missiles from Britain at targets in Russia after getting the go-ahead from London.

The Defense Ministry in Moscow said Thursday that its air defense systems had shot down two Storm Shadows, without saying whether they were shot down on Russian territory or in occupied Ukraine.

The missile escalation comes at a critical time on the ground for Ukraine, as its defensive lines buckle under increasing Russian pressure across the sprawling frontline.

Russia also claimed deeper advances in the war-torn Donetsk region on Thursday, announcing that its forces had captured another village close to Kurakhove, closing in on the town after months of steady advances.

Moscow’s Defense Ministry said Russian forces had captured the small village of Dalne, five kilometers (three miles) south of Kurakhove.

Lysak, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, said 26 people had been wounded in another attack on the city of Kryvyi Rig, where Zelensky was born.

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