The latest on Russia’s war in Ukraine

Video obtained by CNN shows the moment missiles struck the Dnipro region early Thursday morning.

CNN has geolocated the video to Dnipro, but it’s unclear for the moment what type of weapon was used for the attack.

Ukraine accused Russia of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday morning. A Western official said it was a ballistic missile, but not an ICBM.

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Video appears to show the moment of impact of Russian strikes on Dnipro, Ukraine

00:20 - Source: CNN

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova attends a news conference in Moscow, Russia, on April 4, 2023.

The spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry was heard during a news conference Thursday being ordered not to discuss a major strike on Ukraine.

In an unusual departure from her ordinary format, Maria Zakharova took a phone call while she was fielding questions from reporters in a regular press briefing. She answered the call and was clearly heard being told by a male voice not to discuss a missile strike in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, which Kyiv earlier accused Moscow of targeting in a missile strike Thursday.

It was not clear whether the hot-mic incident was staged, or whether Zakharova unintentionally revealed information about the overnight strike on Ukraine.

The exchange also appeared to reveal that the complex previously known as Yuzhmash was the target of the strike. Ukraine has said that Russia used an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to target the city of Dnipro. A Western official said Thursday the missile launched by Russia was a ballistic missile, but not an ICBM.

Later, Russian state media TASS asked Zakharova for more details about the exchange.

“Before the briefing, there were questions about contradictory materials on the Internet. I checked with experts whether this was our subject. The answer came during the briefing – the Foreign Ministry does not comment. So there is no intrigue,” Zakharova told TASS.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a visit to a military training area to find out about the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system, at an undisclosed location, in Germany, on June 11.

Ukraine has batteries of the Patriot missile defense system supplied by the United States and Germany that are capable of intercepting incoming ballistic missile warheads, according to the Missile Threat Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The Patriot system is designed to engage incoming warheads either with an exploding warhead of their own, or with kinetic interceptors – so-called “hit-to-kill” technology, which destroys the incoming warhead by striking it directly.

Patriot interceptors have a vertical range of about 20 kilometers (12 miles) and defend an area of about 15 to 20 kilometers around the battery, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Kyiv reported its armed forces have successfully used the Patriot system to intercept incoming Russian Kinzhal ballistic missiles in 2023. But the Kinzhal is an air-launched ballistic missile, fired from MiG-fighter jets and is an easier target than a warhead from an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Remember: Ukraine has only a limited number of Patriot missile defense systems and batteries. Some cities, like the capital Kyiv, enjoy greater protection than others.

The Dnipropetrovsk region has been a frequent target of Russian bombardment in recent months.

It borders the partially occupied Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions and has become a huge hub for people who have fled areas that are now under Russian control.

The region is now home to more than 400,000 internally displaced people. Dnipro, the fourth largest city in Ukraine, is an important center of life in the eastern part of the country.

It is relatively close to the frontlines, yet still fairly well protected by air defenses. That, plus its transportation infrastructure links to the rest of the country make the city a key hub in Ukraine’s war effort.

Ukraine has launched drones at three regions in Western Russia, according to local Russian officials and the country’s Defense Ministry.

The Russian Defense Ministry said air defense systems had “intercepted and destroyed” two Ukrainian drones over the Rostov and Volgograd regions in an attack on Thursday.

The governor of Astrakhan also announced that an air alert had been activated in the northern parts of the region. The reports of air sirens in Astrakhan come after Ukraine’s military accused Russia of firing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the region early Thursday.

US Major General Mark MacCarley

Russia’s choice to attack Dnipro could be a warning that it can also target the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv, retired US Major General Mark MacCarley told CNN Thursday.

Ukraine fired missiles made by the US and Britain into Russia for the first time this week.

MacCarley, who was speaking from Kyiv, said that there were sirens in the city in the early morning that corresponded to the launch of the possible intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

A Western official has said that the missile launched by Russia as part of an attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro was a ballistic missile, but not an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The official, briefing reporters on the sidelines of a summit of Asian nations’ defense ministers in Laos on Thursday, declined to further characterize the missile, saying its impact was still being assessed.

The reason for the discrepancy with the Ukrainian military on the description of the missile was not immediately clear.

The firing of an ICBM – which has a significantly longer range than other types of ballistic missiles – could represent the use of a new type of missile by Russia in the conflict with Ukraine, and would be a significant escalation.

Ukraine’s military accused Russia of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday, though a Western official has told reporters otherwise, and the Kremlin declined to comment.

This comes in a week of creeping escalation in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Here’s what we know:

• Ukrainian allegations: Ukraine’s air force accused Russia of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile in an attack on the city of Dnipro on Thursday morning. CNN has not been able to verify the claim.

• A Western rebuttal: A Western official has told reporters that the missile launched by Russia was a ballistic missile, but not an ICBM. The official declined to further characterize the missile, saying that its impact was still being assessed.

• Russia stays silent: The Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Kyiv’s accusation on Thursday morning. Peskov said he had “nothing to say” and referred reporters to the Russian military when asked about the missile.

• A show of force: If Russia did indeed use an ICBM in its attack, it could be a message to the West that it has greater capabilities than previously displayed. This week has seen significant military operations and policy changes in both Ukraine and Russia, including both US and British-made missiles being fired into Russia by Ukraine. This prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to update Russia’s nuclear doctrine — in a nuanced way, but still updating its policy to lower the threshold for use.

• A massive attack: Russia was “massively attacking” the Dnipropetrovsk region on Thursday morning, the head of the Ukrainian region’s military administration said. Two people were injured after houses were damaged, and a rehabilitation center for people with disabilities was also damaged in the attack, Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram. There were no reported casualties.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses shot down two British-French-made Storm Shadow missiles, acknowledging Ukraine’s use of the longer-range weapons.

The ministry said Thursday its air defenses had “shot down two British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles, six US-made HIMARS rockets” and 67 drones.

It did not say when the attacks occurred.

Russian military bloggers and Western outlets reported on Wednesday that Ukraine had launched the British-French-made Storm Shadow missiles at targets inside Russia for the first time.

The attack targeted the village of Marino in Russia’s Kursk region. A video posted on Telegram, which was verified and geolocated by CNN, shows explosions audible from Marino on Wednesday.

Separate images circulating on Telegram showed fragments of a Storm Shadow missile. The fragments in the photo were confirmed to be from a Storm Shadow missile by weapons expert Trevor Ball, a former senior explosive ordnance technician for the US Army, who reviewed the image for CNN.

A Russian BTR-82-A armoured personnel carrier, Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system units and Tigr-M all-terrain infantry mobility vehicles drive along Red Square during a rehearsal for a military parade in central Moscow, Russia, on May 5.

Russia’s possible use of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a message to the West that it is has greater capabilities than previously displayed after a week of significant military operations and policy changes in both Ukraine and Russia.

The West has for some time been concerned at a reciprocal Russian escalation in the war. This week, both US and British-French-made missiles have been fired into Russia by Ukraine, after US President Joe Biden gave Kyiv permission to use longer-range American missiles.

In turn, President Vladimir Putin updated Russia’s nuclear doctrine — in a nuanced way, but still refined their policy to lower the threshold for use.

There is no indication that the potential ICBM that Russia fired at around 5 a.m. local time was a nuclear weapon, and there is no evidence that a nuclear explosion was witnessed overnight. Such an event would have elicited a very different reaction in Kyiv and the West.

But it is also notable that the US, Greek, and Spanish embassies in Kyiv closed on Wednesday. It could be possible they had been notified of Russia’s possible ICBM launch and took precautionary measures; a nuclear power, when using a missile like this, might choose to warn other nuclear powers, so they don’t mistake it as a different kind of launch.

So what we know now is very little: a Ukrainian air force statement that an ICBM was used, a different set of sounds in Dnipro. But the effect remains palpable. Russia has tried and perhaps succeeded in sending a message by firing likely a new type of conventional missile to get through Ukrainian air defenses.

This escalation doesn’t necessarily mean a sea change in Russia’s capabilities, or in the outcome of the war, which was already going in their favor.

The key questions we do not have an answer yet to are: What exactly was this missile, what is it capable of doing, and what did it do?

Russia may be “trying to send a message” to Kyiv’s Western backers in a week of creeping escalation, a military analyst said after the Ukrainian military accused Moscow of firing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at Ukraine for the first time.

Although an ICBM can be used to deliver a nuclear warhead, Thursday morning’s attack on Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region was not nuclear.

But the use of the powerful long-range weapon may have been intended to send a signal to the West, he said, after Ukraine this week fired American ATACMS and British-French-made Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russia for the first time.

But it is “important” that Ukraine and its Western allies “don’t back down,” he said.

“If indeed this is a signal to the West to back down and an implicit nuclear threat, then if we do back down, the Russians are only going to do this again – and again, and again, and again,” he said.

Firefighters work at the site of a Russian missile strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, on November 21.

Russia has been “massively attacking” Dnipropetrovsk since early Thursday morning, the head of the Ukrainian region’s military administration said.

“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 center for people with disabilities had been damaged in the attack. There were no reported casualties.

Two others were wounded after two private houses were damaged, he said.

Lysak did not reference the accusation by 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.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had “nothing to say” about the Ukrainian military’s accusation that Russia fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at Ukraine for the first time Thursday morning.

In a call with reporters, Peskov declined to comment.

“That’s a question for our military,” he said.

The Ukrainian military’s accusation that Russia used an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in a Thursday morning attack would be Moscow’s first use of the powerful long-range weapon in a war that has lasted more than 1,000 days.

It comes in a week when both Russia and Ukraine – and its Western allies – have made major policy shifts.

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden gave Ukraine permission to fire longer-range American missiles, known as ATACMS, at targets deep inside Russia.

Russian officials responded furiously to the dropping of this months-long taboo. On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin updated Russia’s nuclear doctrine. Moscow will now consider aggression from any non-nuclear state – but with the participation of a nuclear country – a joint attack on Russia.

Ukraine wasted little time making use of its freshly granted powers. Also on Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry and two US officials said Ukraine had fired ATACMS into Russia for the first time.

In another first, Ukraine reportedly launched the British-French-made Storm Shadow missile at targets inside Russia Wednesday.

A Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launcher rolls on Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9.

An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a long-range weapon that is fired into space and then releases a warhead or warheads that reenter the atmosphere to drop on their targets.

ICBMs are considered to have a minimum range of 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles), but some versions can go much farther, more than 9,000 kilometers, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

ICBMs can be launched from silos or mobile launch vehicles and can be solid- or liquid-fueled. Solid-fueled ICBMs are considered more dangerous as they can be moved and launched more quickly than liquid-fueled ones.

The first ICBM rocket was launched in 1957 by the then-Soviet Union. The United States followed in 1959.

Other types of ballistic missiles include intermediate range (IRBM), between 3,000 kilometers and 5,000 kilometers; medium range, between 1,000 and 3,000 kilometers; and short range, less than 1,000 kilometers.

Ukraine’s military accused Russia of launching an intercontinental missile (ICBM) during a Thursday morning attack on the city of Dnipro.

“An intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation,” Ukraine’s air force said in a statement.

The statement did not say what kind of ICBM Russia deployed and CNN has not been able to verify the claim.

Ukraine’s military also said an X-47M2 Kinzhal ballistic missile was launched along with seven cruise missiles in the attack on Dnipro. It said all but one of the cruise missiles were shot down.

“The other missiles didn’t cause significant consequences,” the statement said.

This post has been corrected to clarify that all but one of the cruise missiles were shot down.

The US Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on November 20.

The United States embassy in Kyiv is expected to reopen on Thursday, after closing for the first time in more than two years yesterday.

Several Western embassies in Kyiv were closed Wednesday after receiving alerts of a major airstrike on the city. Ukraine later said Russia had staged an “information and psychological attack” by spreading a fake warning of a massive attack, purporting to be from Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence.

The closing of the US embassy in particular is a reflection of the rising tensions between Moscow and Washington. It comes a day after Ukraine fired US-made longer-range missiles into Russian territory for the first time, and as the Biden administration announced it was sending anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine for the first time.

The United States will send Ukraine more military equipment as part of a $275 million assistance package.

The funding is a part of a surge in military support ordered by President Joe Biden in September. It is the country’s “seventieth tranche of equipment” provided from US military supplies since August 2021, the defense department said.

It will include:

Separately: The US has also approved sending anti-personnel mines to Ukraine for the first time — another major policy shift. Human rights groups have long criticized use of the weapons because they can kill indiscriminately and can remain armed for years.