In a sign of major escalation, Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile ( ICBM ) from the Astrakhan region on Thursday morning against Ukraine, marking the first use of such a weapon in the 33-month-long war, according to Ukraine’s air force.
The attack targeted businesses and critical equipment in Dnipro, a central-eastern Russian city. No evidence exists as to whether the weapon caused major harm.
Ukraine’s air power stated,” An intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Astrakhan area of the Russian Federation”.
The speech did not specify the type of weapon, but it did mention that Ukrainian heat defenses had intercepted six Kh-101 cruise missiles, according to CNN.
Soviet media reported that Moscow might have hampered infiltration work by using the RS-26 Rubezh missile, which can carry both standard and nuclear weapons and fly at high speeds, according to The Telegraph.
ICBMs are normally able to carry nuclear or conventional warheads with a range of more than 5,500 kilometers.
Using US-made ATACMS and British-French Storm Shadow missiles to strike targets deeply within Russian country, Ukraine’s latest attack underscores the escalation, according to Reuters.
The use of an ICBM follows President Vladimir Putin’s recent upgrade to Russia’s nuclear philosophy. On Tuesday, he announced that Russia would regard aggression from a non-nuclear state, supported by a nuclear power, as a clear danger to its independence.
The Kremlin had earlier warned that Ukraine’s usage of American long-range missiles would be seen as a main increase.
Early this year, Ukrainian troops attacked Russian military setups with these cutting-edge weapons.
Moscow responded with challenges of “massive” punitive strikes, including the rollout of more sophisticated weapon systems.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, declined to comment on the implementation of the ICBM. ” That’s a problem for our martial”, he said.
