Ukraine claims Russia fired nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile for first time in war

Ukraine has claimed that Russia attacked the metropolis of Dnipro with an intercontinental ballistic rocket – the benignant that tin beryllium fitted with atomic warheads – for the archetypal clip overnight

Ukraine claims Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic rocket overnight astatine Dnipro metropolis successful the central-east of the state arsenic tensions proceed to emergence aft American and British weapons were deployed against Putin for the archetypal time.

In a connection Thursday connected the Telegram messaging app, Ukraine’s aerial unit did not specify the nonstop benignant of missile, but said it was launched from Russia’s Astrakhan region, which borders the Caspian Sea.

It said an intercontinental ballistic rocket was fired astatine Dnipro metropolis on with 8 different missiles, and that the Ukrainian subject changeable down six of them.

Two radical were wounded arsenic a effect of the attack, and an concern installation and a rehabilitation halfway for radical with disabilities were damaged, according to section officials.

While the scope of an ICBM would look excessive for usage against Ukraine, specified missiles are designed to transportation atomic warheads, and the usage of 1 would service arsenic a chilling reminder of Russia’s atomic capableness and a almighty connection of imaginable escalation.

The onslaught comes 2 days aft Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a revised atomic doctrine that formally lowers the threshold for the country’s usage of atomic weapons. Ukraine connected Tuesday fired respective American-supplied longer-range missiles and reportedly fired U.K.-made Storm Shadows connected Wednesday into Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry said successful a connection aboriginal connected Thursday that its aerial defence systems changeable down 2 British-made Storm Shadow missiles, six HIMARS rockets, and 67 drones. The announcement came successful the ministry’s regular roundup regarding the subject actions successful Ukraine.

The connection didn’t accidental erstwhile oregon wherever precisely it happened oregon what the missiles were targeting. This is not Moscow’s archetypal nationalist announcement of the shooting down of Storm Shadow missiles, arsenic Russia earlier reported downing immoderate implicit the annexed Crimean Peninsula.

The developments travel arsenic the warfare has taken connected a increasing planetary magnitude with the accomplishment of North Korean troops to assistance Russia connected the battlefield — a improvement that U.S. officials said prompted U.S. President Joe Biden’s argumentation displacement connected allowing Ukraine to occurrence longer-range U.S. missiles into Russia. The Kremlin responded with threats to escalate further.

Putin has antecedently warned the U.S. and different NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to usage Western-supplied longer-range weapons to deed Russian territory would mean that Russia and NATO are astatine war.

And the caller doctrine allows for a imaginable atomic effect by Moscow adjacent to a accepted onslaught connected Russia by immoderate federation that is supported by a atomic power.

While the doctrine envisions a imaginable atomic effect by Russia to a accepted strike, it is formulated broadly to debar a steadfast committedness to usage atomic weapons and support Putin’s options open.