Ukraine says Russia has launched an ICBM aimed at Dnipro

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine claimed Thursday that Russia fired an intercontinental ballistic missile overnight at one of its cities. If confirmed, it would be the first time Moscow has used such a weapon in the war.

Ukraine provided no evidence that an ICBM was used in the attack on the central city of Dnipro, apparently armed with conventional warheads.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a missile “matches the speed and altitude” of an ICBM. The Kremlin refused to comment on the strike.

The attack comes in a week when tensions has repeatedly increasedwhen the United States eased restrictions on Ukraine’s use of American-made long-range missiles inside Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold to launch nuclear weapons.

The range of an ICBM — which can exceed 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles) — is beyond what is needed to attack Ukraine. But such missiles are designed to carry nuclear warheads, and the use of one, even with a conventional payload, would serve as a chilling reminder of Russia’s nuclear capabilities. It also appears to send a message to Ukraine’s Western allies that Moscow has the ability to target them.

In a statement Thursday on the Telegram messaging app, Ukraine’s air force said an intercontinental ballistic missile was fired at Dnipro along with eight other missiles and that the Ukrainian military 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 officials.

The Air Force statement did not specify the exact type of ICBM, but said it was launched from Russia’s Astrakhan region on the Caspian Sea.

“Today our crazy neighbor again showed what he really is,” Zelenskyy said. “And how scared he is.”

British officials did not immediately confirm what kind of missile Russia fired. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman, Dave Pares, called the reports “deeply concerning” but added that intelligence services were still looking into them.

“If true, this will clearly be another example of serious, reckless and escalating behavior by Russia and only serves to strengthen our resolve,” he said.

Defense Secretary John Healey said there were “unconfirmed reports … of Russia launching a new ballistic missile at Ukraine, which we know they have been preparing for months.”

Ballistic missiles can have a range of anywhere from under 500 kilometers (310 miles) to over 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles) in the case of intercontinental ones. “Ballistic” refers to the shape of their trajectory.

Since the Cold War era, Moscow and Washington have given each other advance notice of ICBM launches to prevent the other side from perceiving a test launch as a nuclear attack.

They have stuck to exchanging such warnings despite rising tensions – which have risen again in recent days.

Earlier this week, the Biden administration authorized Ukraine to use the USA delivered, long-range missiles to strike deeper into Russia – a move that drew an angry response from Moscow.

Days later, Ukraine fired several of the missiles into Russia, according to the Kremlin. Same day, Putin signed a new doctrine that allows for a potential nuclear response even to a conventional attack on Russia by any nation backed by a nuclear power.

The doctrine is formulated broadly to avoid a firm commitment to use nuclear weapons. In response, Western countries, including the United States, said Russia has used irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and behavior throughout the war to intimidate Ukraine and other nations.

They have also expressed dismay at the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to Russia to fight Ukraine.

Also on Thursday, Russia also struck Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih, injuring 26 people, the head of the regional administration, Serhii Lysak, said. The missile attack caused damage to an administrative building, at least five storey residential buildings and civilian vehicles.

The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said in a statement that its air defense systems shot down two British-made Storm Shadow missiles, six HIMARS missiles and 67 drones.

The statement did not say when or where the Storm Shadows were shot down or what they were aimed at. Russia has previously reported having shot down some of the missiles over the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula.

more than 1,000 days at warRussia has taken over, with its larger army advancing in Donetsk, and Ukrainian civilians are suffering relentless drone and missile attacks.

Analysts and observers say the easing of restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western missiles is unlikely to change the course of the war, but it puts the Russian army in a more vulnerable position and could complicate logistics crucial to warfare.

Putin has also warned that the move would mean that Russia and NATO are at war.

“It’s an important move, and it backs up, undermines the narrative that Putin had tried to establish that it was fine for Russia to rain down Iranian drones and North Korean missiles on Ukraine, but a reckless escalation for Ukraine to use Western delivered weapons at legitimate targets in Russia,” said Peter Ricketts, a former UK national security adviser who now sits in the House of Lords.

___ Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at