Russia’s air defence systems have shot down two British-made Storm Shadow missiles, officials said.
The announcement, which came in the defence ministry’s daily round-up of the “special military operation” in Ukraine, did not say when or where it happened or what the missiles were targeting. It said six HIMARS rockets and 67 drones were also shot down.
The claims came after Ukraine said that Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) overnight targeting the city of Dnipro in the east of the country – the first time Moscow has used such a missile in the war.
Ukraine did not provide any evidence that an ICBM, apparently armed with conventional warheads, was used in the attack.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said a missile “matches the speed and altitude” of an ICBM. The Kremlin refused to comment on the strike.
The attack comes in a week when tensions have repeatedly soared, as the US eased restrictions on Ukraine’s use of American-made longer-range missiles inside Russia and the Kremlin lowered its threshold for launching nuclear weapons.
The range of an ICBM — which can exceed 3,400 miles — is beyond what is needed to attack Ukraine. But such missiles are designed to carry atomic warheads, and the use of one, even with a conventional payload, would serve as a chilling reminder of Russia’s nuclear capability and a powerful message of potential escalation.
In a statement on the Telegram messaging app, Ukraine’s air force said an ICBM was fired at Dnipro, along with eight other missiles, and that the Ukrainian military shot down six of them.
Two people were wounded in the attack, and an industrial facility and a rehabilitation centre for people with disabilities were damaged, according to local officials.
The air force statement did not specify the exact type of ICBM but said it was launched from Russia’s Astrakhan region, on the Caspian Sea.
“Today, our crazy neighbour once again showed what he really is,” Mr Zelensky said. “And how afraid he is.”
Ballistic missiles can have a range of anywhere from under 310 miles to more than 3,400 miles in the case of intercontinental ones. “Ballistic” refers to the shape of their trajectory.
Since the Cold War era, Moscow and Washington have given each other advance notice about ICBM launches to prevent the other side from perceiving a test launch as a nuclear attack.
They have stuck to exchanging such warnings despite increasing tensions — which ratcheted up again in recent days.
Earlier this week, the Biden administration authorised Ukraine to use US-supplied, longer-range missiles to strike deeper inside Russia — a move that drew an angry response from Moscow.
Days later, Ukraine fired several of the missiles into Russia, according to the Kremlin. The same day, President Vladimir Putin signed a new doctrine that allows for a potential nuclear response even to a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power.
The doctrine is formulated broadly to avoid a firm commitment to use nuclear weapons. In response, Western countries, including the US, said Russia has used irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and behaviour throughout the war to intimidate Ukraine and other nations.
They have also expressed dismay at the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to Russia to fight against Ukraine.
