Vladimir Putin fired a "massive" intercontinental ballistic missile into central Ukraine overnight as revenge for its use of US and British weapons to strike Russia, the Ukrainian air force has said.
The 72-year-old premier's forces fired hulking RS-26 intercontinental ballistic missiles at businesses and critical infrastructure in the central-eastern city of Dnipro - sending fears of further escalation spiking in the wake of yesterday's landmark strikes.
Ukrainian air defences shot down six Kh-101 cruise missiles during the attack - though Volodymyr Zelensky's forces have remained silent on whether the ICBMs caused any damage.
"In particular, an intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation," Ukraine added.
Missiles like the RS-26 are fired from hulking launchers like these
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The RS-26 missile set for launches against Kyiv is similar to the RS-24 Yars, pictured here
RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY
Moscow-based newspaper Moskovky Komsomolets reported yesterday that the Russian military was readying up to launch the RS-26 missiles from a site in the city of Astrakhan by the Caspian Sea - far deeper inside Russia than Ukraine is able to touch, even with Storm Shadow or ATACMS missiles.
This was confirmed to have been the overnight attack's launch site this morning.
The "massive" rockets are thought to fly at five times the speed of sound, narrowing the odds that Ukraine's US-supplied Patriot missile defence systems could shoot them down.
Kyiv has regularly been attacked by smaller, slower Iskander missiles since the war started 1,002 days ago.
LATEST AS UKRAINE SITS ON THE BRINK:
The Ukrainian people should be 'trembling' over Putin's missile threats, Russian propagandist and military analyst Timur Syrlanov said
REUTERSThe RS-26 is fired from a ground-based launcher, reportedly weighs some 50 tonnes and packs a warhead three times larger than the Iskander's.
On Wednesday, the American, Italian, Spanish and Greek embassies in Kyiv shut down as the capital braced for a Russian attack.
The US diplomatic outpost has now reopened - but reports in Russian media have left locals uneasy.
The Ukrainian people should be "trembling" over the missile threats, Russian propagandist and military analyst Timur Syrlanov told Moskovky Komsomolets.
Syrlanov said: "In this situation, we will not use nuclear weapons, but the neo-Nazis and their Western allies, I think, will appreciate in the coming days the blow that will be dealt to Ukraine's critical infrastructure and, possibly, to targets in Kyiv itself."
Volodymyr Zelensky tore into how 'panic-inducing messages circulated today only help Russia'
REUTERSThe Telegraph's Anna Conkling in Kyiv wrote that despite warnings of attacks from 317 different types of radio-controlled strike drones yesterday, life in the capital was continuing as normal.
The hundreds-strong drone attack alert had forced authorities to issue a "seek shelter" warning - but it turned out to be false, prompting Zelensky to tear into how "panic-inducing messages circulated today only help Russia".
"However many brutal and treacherous attacks by Russia we have endured... it is always important to pay attention to air raid warnings," he said in his nightly video address. "We have a neighbour that is insane."
The GUR military intelligence body said: "The enemy, unable to subdue Ukrainians by force, resorts to measures of intimidation and psychological pressure on society. We ask you to be vigilant and steadfast."
