Ukraine says Russia launched an intercontinental missile in an attack for the first time in the war

LONDON — Russia on Thursday launched an intercontinental ballistic missile toward Ukraine, officials in Kyiv said, but a Western official told News that the attack did not appear to be an ICBM.

It was instead a ballistic missile, which was aimed at Dnipro, in Ukraine’s southeast, the Western official said.

The claim was not immediately confirmed by Moscow, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declining to comment, saying questions about it should be instead directed to the Russian Defense Ministry.

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The launch of an ICBM, if confirmed, would arrive amid concerns that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could escalate. Ukraine’s military this week first launched U.S.-made ATACMS missiles toward targets within Russia, days after U.S. President Joe Biden allowed for such use of the long-range weapons.

All of the missiles were launched in about two hours, beginning at about 5 a.m., Ukraine said.

All were targeted at businesses and critical infrastructure, but only the missile that Ukraine identified as an ICBM struck the city. The six other missiles were shot down, Ukraine said. There were no reports of casualties or significant damage, officials said.

The launch of an ICBM, if confirmed, would arrive amid concerns that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could further escalate.

Ukraine’s military this week first launched U.S.-made ATACMS missiles toward targets within Russia, days after U.S. President Joe Biden allowed for such use of the long-range weapons.

Within hours of Russia announcing it had struck down some of those ATACMS missiles, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had updated the country’s nuclear doctrine, a move that lowered the bar for a response with nuclear weapons.

News’ Joe Simonetti, Lauren Minore and Yulia Drozd contributed to this report.