Ukrainian officials are claiming Russian forces struck the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Nov. 21 with an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
“Today it was a new Russian missile. All the parameters: speed, altitude – match those of an intercontinental ballistic missile,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Thursday press statement. “All expert evaluations are underway.”
The Ukrainian Air Force was more firm in its assessment, stating the weapon that struck Dnipro was in fact an ICBM. They said the missile launch came from near Astrakhan, on Russia’s Caspian sea shoreline.
Ukraine’s air force said the ICBM attack was also accompanied by a Russian Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missile, and six X-101 cruise missiles. They said they managed to shoot down the cruise missiles, while the ballistic missiles inflicted minimal damage.
ICBM’s are primarily intended for the delivery of nuclear warheads. If the Ukrainian military’s reporting is accurate, it would mean Russia used one of its ICBM’s for a non-nuclear strike. It would be the first ever use of an ICBM in an armed conflict.
The Russian military has yet to comment publicly on the alleged ICBM strike.
Videos circulating on social media purport to show the attack. Footage shows multiple clusters of warheads striking, indicating the ICBM may have had a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) configuration.
The alleged ICBM strike comes just days after reports emerged that the United States had granted Ukraine permission to use U.S.-donated weapons for long-range strikes inside Russian territory. Russia’s military reported Ukraine launched multiple U.S.-donated MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) at Russia’s Bryansk region on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
If Russia indeed launched a non-nuclear ICBM at Ukraine, it could serve as their answer to Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russia; signaling their willingness to escalate further.
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv was closed on Nov. 20, citing “specific information of a potential significant air attack on November 20.”
This article was originally published by FreeBase News and is reprinted with permission.
