Russia Fires Intercontinental Ballistic Missile At Ukraine For First Time

The attack comes after the Russia-Ukraine war marked 1,000 days of war without an end in sight. The war began after Russia started an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Ukraine on Thursday said that Russia has fired intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at the country for the first time since its inception. 

Ukraine’s Air Force said the launch took place from the Astrakhan region of the country, which is in the south-east of Vologograd, bordering the Caspian Sea. Kyiv said overnight attacks by Russia targeted "enterprises and critical infrastructure in the central-eastern city of Dnipro."

ICBMs have a range of thousands of kilometres and are made to carry conventional, chemical, biological or nuclear payloads. Soon after the attack, videos surfaced on social media showing the missiles targeting infrastructure in Ukraine.

However, Russia has denied to comment on the launch of ICBMs. A video has gone viral showing Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova receiving a phone call in the middle of a press conference over the missile launch. Several reports shared the video with the claim that she was allegedly instructed by higher authorities on the telephone call to not speak about the launch. 

Western Official Denies Ukraine Claim

Shortly after the Ukrainian allegations, Western official have denied the claim that Russia has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile. 

"It was instead a ballistic missile, which was aimed at Dnipro, in Ukraine’s southeast," a western official told ABC News.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dimtry Peskov has said that Russia is committed to avoiding nuclear war and added that the west has a responsibility not to engage in “provocative actions.”

Earlier this week, Ukraine had fired US and British manufactured longer-range missiles inside Russia for the first time. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a revised Russian nuclear doctrine, which included the provision that if a non-nuclear power attacked Russia with the assistance of a nuclear power, that would meet the threshold for a nuclear response.

The attack comes after the Russia-Ukraine war marked 1,000 days of war without any end in sight. The war began after Russia started an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.