Ukraine on Thursday alleged that Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile overnight in an attempt to strike Dnipro city, located in the southeastern part of the country. However, doubts have been cast over Kyiv's claim as a Western official said the weapon used was not an ICBM.
According to ABC News, the official said it was likely a ballistic missile aimed at Dnipro. The Ukrainian military also claimed that eight other missiles were filed along with the ICBM, of which they shot down six.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released a statement on social media saying that they were investigating if the missile was an ICBM.
"[Putin] is so afraid that he is already using new missiles. And he is looking around the world for other places to find weapons: now in Iran, now in North Korea," he wrote.
Moscow is yet to respond to the claims made by Ukraine.
The UK prime minister's spokesperson, who spoke anonymously but on the record to the Guardian, said that they are "urgently" looking into reports.
"As you will understand it is a rapidly developing situation and I don't want to get ahead of our intelligence services who are looking at these reports urgently, but if true, clearly this would be another example of grave, reckless and escalatory behavior from Russia and only serves to strengthen our resolve," he added.
The already tense war between Ukraine and Russia further escalated after the Biden administration last week allowed Kyiv to use US-provided, long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) inside Russian territory. The Kremlin heavily criticized the move, with officials saying that the U.S. was adding fuel to the fire by lifting the ban.
Just after news of the alleged ICBM attack surfaced, retired US Major General Mark MacCarley told CNN that this move could be a warning that Moscow might target the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv.
"You could say that Russia shot first at Dnipro as a statement suggesting that if Ukraine does not back away from the use of, let's say, the newly provided ATACMS (longer-range American missiles) from the US and the storm shadows from Britain, that Russia will use the same longer range intercontinental ballistic missile and hit Kyiv," he told CNN.
Meanwhile, Russia has also been receiving support from North Korea as reports surfaced that Pyongyang's troops had deployed to help Moscow's army drive Ukrainian forces out of Russia's Kursk border region.
