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After days of escalating conflict, Russia launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The missile, which did not have a nuclear warhead, was launched along with seven Kh-101 cruise missiles toward the southern city of Dnipro, Ukraine’s air defense force said.
The use of the ICBM comes after Ukraine fired a US-made Atakumus long-range missile and a British Stormshadow missile into Russian territory in recent days.
In response to the Atakum attack, Russia changed its nuclear doctrine and lowered the standards for first use of a nuclear weapon. ICBMs, in contrast to so-called short-range and intermediate-range missiles, are designed to carry nuclear warheads across continents.
Its range is thousands of miles, much longer than missiles such as the Atakum and Storm Shadow, which can travel between 250km and 300km.
Russia has previously used nuclear-capable missiles to attack Ukraine, although the range was short. The Russian military has repeatedly launched Iskander, a ground-launched short-range ballistic missile, and Kinzhal, an air-launched hypersonic missile, both of which can carry nuclear warheads.
Ukraine announced that it had intercepted six Russian missiles. It added that the ICBM was launched from Russia’s southern Astrakhan region. He did not say what type of intercontinental ballistic missile was used.
Local authorities said two people were injured in the attack.
This is a developing story
