Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from its southern Astrakhan region during a morning attack on Ukraine on Thursday, Kyiv’s air force said.
It would be the first time Russia has used such a powerful, long-range missile during the war.
The strike comes after Ukraine used US and British missiles to strike targets inside Russia this week, something Moscow had warned for months would be seen as a major escalation.
The Russian attack targeted enterprises and critical infrastructure in the central-eastern city of Dnipro, the air force said, at a time of escalating moves in the 33-month-old war launched by Russia in Ukraine.
It was unclear from the statement what the intercontinental ballistic missile targeted and whether it caused any damage.
The missiles have a range of thousands of kilometres and can be used for delivering nuclear warheads, though they can also have conventional warheads.
Ukrainian air defences shot down six Kh-101 cruise missiles during the attack.
“In particular, an intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation,” the air force said, detailing types of weapon used in the attack. It did not say what kind of intercontinental ballistic missile was fired.
The United States and several European countries closed their embassies in Kyiv on Wednesday due to fears of a massive Russian rocket attack, as Ukraine reportedly hit Russia for the first time with Storm Shadow cruise missiles supplied by Britain.
The US, Italy, Spain and Greece temporarily shut their diplomatic missions in the Ukrainian capital amid concerns over Moscow’s response to Ukraine’s strike on Tuesday against an arms depot in the Russian region of Bryansk. It was the first attack on Russian territory using long-range Atacms ballistic missiles delivered by Washington. – Agencies