Kiev accused Russia on Thursday of launching a non-nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine, which would mark the first-ever use of the weapon in combat and a sharp escalation of the conflict.

Ukraine said the nuclear-capable missile targeted the central city of Dnipro, and while the Kremlin declined to confirm it had launched the attack, it said it was doing everything possible to prevent a nuclear escalation.

Russia’s rocket fire on the industrial city, which authorities said wounded two people, is just the latest escalation since Ukraine fired Western-supplied long-range missiles at Russia this month.

The Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement that Russia had launched several types of missiles at Dnipro in the early hours of Thursday, targeting critical infrastructure.

“In particular, an intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation,” the statement said.

A Ukrainian air force source confirmed to AFP that it was the first time Russia had used such a weapon since the invasion in February 2022.

The source added that it was “obvious” that the missile, which is designed to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, did not carry a nuclear payload.

– Kremlin refuses comment –

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said experts were investigating the attack to confirm that an intercontinental ballistic missile was fired by “our crazy neighbor.”

“It has all the characteristics – speed, altitude – of an intercontinental ballistic missile. It is clear that Putin is using Ukraine as a testing ground,” he said on social media.

Asked whether Moscow fired the missile, which can hit targets thousands of kilometers away, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had “nothing to say on the subject.”

However, he did say the Kremlin was making a “maximum effort” to prevent a nuclear conflict after updating its nuclear doctrine this week.

The new policy allows Moscow to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states and Russia said the move should be seen as a warning to the West.

“We have emphasized in the context of our doctrine that Russia takes a responsible position and makes maximum efforts to prevent such a conflict,” Peskov added on Thursday.

While Moscow declined to comment on the attack, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman received a call during a live news conference ordering her not to comment on reports of the ballistic strike, a video showed.

“Masha,” an unknown male voice said on the phone to spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. “We are not commenting at all on the Yuzhmash ballistic missile attack that Westerners have started talking about.”

Yuzhmash is the Russian name of an aerospace manufacturer in Dnipro – now called Pivdenmash – that produced rockets during the Soviet Union and is now reportedly producing satellites.

Russian had previously claimed to have hit the sprawling facility in September this year.

The EU said the attack, if confirmed, would mark a “clear escalation” by President Vladimir Putin.

“While we assess the full facts, it is clear that such an attack would mark another clear escalation on Putin’s part,” State Department spokesman Peter Stano told reporters.

Britain, meanwhile, said the strike would be “reckless and escalating”.

Ukrainian air defense units downed six missiles, the air force said, without elaborating on whether the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was among them.

– ‘Political value’ –

The head of the Dnipropetrovsk region, where the city of Dnipro is located, said the Russian aerial bombardment had damaged a rehabilitation center and several houses, as well as an industrial enterprise.

“Two people were injured; a 57-year-old man was treated at the scene and a 42-year-old woman was hospitalized,” official Sergiy Lysak said.

Fabian Hoffmann, a research fellow at the University of Oslo who specializes in missile technology, said Russia could have used other types of missiles – or even drones – for such an attack.

“This is all about the political effect. This is not about the military value,” Hoffmann told AFP.

Russia and Ukraine have escalated their use of lethal long-range missiles in recent days since the United States authorized their ATACMS to be used against military targets in Russia – a long-standing Ukrainian request.

Meanwhile, British media reported on Wednesday that Kiev had launched British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles at targets in Russia after receiving the green light from London.

The Defense Ministry in Moscow said Thursday that its air defense systems had downed two Storm Shadows, without saying whether they were shot down on Russian territory or in occupied Ukraine.

The missile escalation comes at a critical time for Ukraine, as defense lines buckle under mounting Russian pressure across the vast frontline.

Russia also claimed deeper advances in the war-torn Donetsk region on Thursday, announcing that its forces had captured another village near Kurakhove and were closing in on the city after months of steady advances.

Moscow’s Defense Ministry said Russian forces had captured the small village of Dalne, five kilometers south of Kurakhove.

Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said 26 people had been injured in a new attack on the town of Kryvyi Rig, where Zelensky was born.

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