Photo: Sample of the ICBM allegedly fired by Russia into Dnipro on Thursday morning
Tension between Russia and Ukraine reached boiling point on Thursday morning as Russia’s Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, spreading fears of a wider and more destructive conflict.
The use of the Russian ICMB, which has a range of nearly 6,000km is seen as a fast escalation and a possible warning by Russia to the US, UK and NATO that it was ready for whatever they are prepared to bring to the war.
A Russian newspaper, Moskovky Komsomolets reported on Thursday that the Russian military is readying to launch the RS-26 Rubezh missile, an intermediate ground-based missile which has not been deployed in the Ukraine war before from a site in the city of Astrakhan by the Caspian Sea.
The latest development came as the war, which was sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reached the 1,000th-day mark on Tuesday, 19 November.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had hinted at escalation after the United States of America and United Kingdom gave his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenski the nod to use their weapons to strike Russia.
Russia’s use of the ICBM is seen as a response to that approval, which led to Ukraine hitting Russia’s military depot on Wednesday using longer-range American missiles, known as ATACMS, at targets deep inside Russia.
A CNN report said Russia has been “massively attacking” Dnipropetrovsk since early Thursday morning, quoting the head of the Ukrainian region’s military administration.
“Since early morning, the aggressor has been massively attacking the region,” Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram.
He reported “damage to an industrial enterprise” in the regional capital Dnipro. There were two fires in the city, he said.
Lysak also said that a rehabilitation centre for people with disabilities had been damaged in the attack. There were no reported casualties, but two others were wounded after two private houses were damaged, he said.
“Public utilities are working at the emergency sites. The National Police is accepting reports of property damage. Philanthropists are helping people. They are providing psychological assistance and materials for quick repairs,” he said.
Lysak did not reference the allegation of Ukrainian authorities that Russia had used an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in its attack on Dnipro, which would be a first in more than 1,000 days of war.
While the Russian authorities have neither confirmed nor denied the use of ICBM in Ukraine, the Defence Ministry revealed that its air defences “shot down two British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles, six US-made HIMARS rockets” and 67 drones.
What is ICBM
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than 5,500 kilometres (3,400 mi). They are primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads).
Chemical and biological weapons can also be delivered with varying effectiveness, but have never been deployed on ICBMs. Most modern designs support multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), allowing a single missile to carry several warheads, each of which can strike a different target.
The United States, Russia, China, France, India, the United Kingdom, Israel, and North Korea are the only countries known to have operational ICBMs. Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed state that does not possess ICBMs.
