KYIV:
Ukraine said Russia fired a new kind of missile at the city of Dnipro on Thursday, and while there was debate over what kind, it appeared to be a nuclear-capable weapon that carried multiple warheads, in a further escalation of the 33-month-old war.
Kyiv said Russia used an intercontinental ballistic missile, a weapon designed for long-distance nuclear strikes and never before used in war. Three US officials said it was an intermediate range ballistic missile that has a smaller range.
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address that Russia launched a medium-range ballistic missile attack on a Ukrainian military facility in response to recent Ukrainian long-range strikes with Western weapons.
Regardless of its classification, the latest strike highlighted rapidly rising tensions in the past several days. Ukraine fired US and British missiles at targets inside Russia this week despite warnings by Moscow that it would see such action as a major escalation.
Russia’s ambassador in London said on Thursday that Britain was now “directly involved” in the war in Ukraine. Security experts said that if the Dnipro strike involved an intercontinental ballistic missile, it would be the first use of such a missile in war.
ICBMs are strategic weapons designed to deliver nuclear warheads and are an important part of Russia’s nuclear deterrent. Intermediate-range ballistic missiles have a range of 3,000-5,500km (1,860-3,415 miles).
“Today there was a new Russian missile. All the characteristics – speed, altitude – are (of an) intercontinental ballistic (missile). An expert (investigation) is currently underway,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video statement.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry urged the international community to react swiftly to the use of what it said was “the use by Russia of a new type of weaponry.” Ukraine’s air force said the ICBM targeted Dnipro in central-eastern Ukraine and was fired from the Russian region of Astrakhan, more than 700 km (435 miles) away. It 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.
“Whether it was an ICBM or an IRBM, the range isn’t the important factor,” said Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at Oslo university who specializes in missile technology and nuclear strategy. “The fact that it carried a MIRVed (Multiple
independently targetable reentry vehicle) payload is much more significant for signaling purposes and is the reason Russia opted for it. This payload is exclusively associated with nuclear-capable missiles.”
Russia also fired a Kinzhal hypersonic missile and seven Kh-101 cruise missiles, six of which were shot down, the Ukrainian air force said. The attack targeted enterprises and critical infrastructure in Dnipro, the air force said. Dnipro was a missile-making centre in the Soviet era.
Ukraine has expanded its military industry during the war, but keeps its whereabouts secret.
