Ukraine says Russia hit with ICBM, Zelenskyy says Putin ‘horrified’

LONDON and Kyiv — Russia on Thursday launched an intercontinental ballistic missile toward southeastern Ukraine, officials in Kiev said, but a U.S. official told ABC News that Russia launched “an experimental medium-range ballistic missile against Ukraine” near Dnipro.

The official said the United States has in recent days briefed Ukraine and other close allies and partners on the possibility of Russia using the weapon to help them prepare. Russia likely has only “a handful” of these experimental missiles, according to the official.

Two US officials previously told ABC News it was an intermediate-range ballistic missile, or IRBM, and not an ICBM.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday after the launch of the missile that Russia has the right to use its weapons against the military facilities of countries that use their weapons against Russia.

Putin said, “We believe that we have the right to use our weapons against the military facilities of countries that allow them to use their own weapons against our targets. In case of an increase in aggressive actions, we will respond decisively and in the same way.”

Putin said that Russia used “one of Russia’s newest medium-range missile systems” in its attack on Ukraine, that it was a “ballistic missile with non-nuclear hypersonic equipment” and that “the test was successful.”

The Kremlin announced earlier this week that Putin was updating the country’s nuclear doctrine; This was a move that lowered the bar for Russia to respond with nuclear weapons. Russian ICBMs can carry a nuclear warhead, but the missile fired on Thursday did not have one.

A Ukrainian official told ABC News that the Ukrainian military is “95% sure” that Thursday’s attack was carried out by an ICBM, but added that they were still examining missile parts on the ground and could not yet reach a final conclusion.

“Today was a new Russian missile. All parameters such as speed and altitude match those of the intercontinental ballistic missile,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media. “All expert evaluations are ongoing.”

The Ukrainian Air Force announced Thursday morning that it was following up on the launch of the ICBM with six additional missiles, all targeting the Dnipro region. Ukrainian military officials said the ICBM appeared to have been launched from the Astrakhan region in southwestern Russia.

Ukraine said the missiles were all launched in about two hours, starting around 5 a.m. local time.

Ukraine said they all targeted businesses and critical infrastructure, but only the missile, which Ukraine identified as an ICBM, hit the city. The other six missiles were shot down. No casualties or serious damage were reported, officials said.

U.S. officials said assessments of the launch, type of missile and warhead, and damage at Dnipro are ongoing. The distance to the attack point in Dnipro, which Ukraine says is the launch point, is about 600 miles, which is shorter than the distance an ICBM is expected to travel.

Two experts told ABC News that the projectile seen in the video circulating online likely appeared to be a “ballistic missile with MIRV-ed capabilities.”

The launch of the ICBM, if confirmed, would come amid concerns that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could escalate further. This week the Ukrainian army was launched for the first time US-made ATACMS missiles Days after the US President heads towards targets in Russia Joe Biden allowed for such use from long range weapons.

In his statement on Thursday, Putin accused the USA of escalating the conflict and said: “I would like to emphasize once again that it is the USA, not Russia, that is destroying the international security system. By continuing to fight, hold on to the USA. Their own hegemony is pushing the whole world into a global conflict.” .”

Kiev launched six ATACMS at targets on Russian territory on Tuesday, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Zelenskyy He said he would not confirm whether Ukraine used ATACMS to attack an ammunition depot in Russia’s Bryansk region, but said Ukraine did have ATACMS and “will use all of this against Russia.”

A few hours after Russia announced Tuesday that it had shot down five of the ATACMS, the Kremlin announced that Putin had updated the country’s nuclear doctrine.

Following this warning, Ukraine fired long-range British Storm Shadow cruise missiles at Russia for the first time on Wednesday, a Ukrainian military unit participating in the operation told ABC News. The unit said at least 10 of these missiles hit a property in the village of Marino.

The unit said they targeted a command center where North Korean army generals and officers were located. more than that 10,000 North Korean soldiers It is said to be operating alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region.

Ukraine’s 413th Separate Unmanned Systems Battalion, which helped provide fire control in the attacks, told ABC News there was intelligence indicating senior North Koreans were present.

Russia’s attack on Thursday was “horrified” by Russia and its leader, Zelenskyy said.

“Obviously, Putin is horrified when there is a normal life next to him. Only when people are honorable. When a country only wants to be independent and has the right to be independent,” Zelenskyy said. he said. “Putin is doing whatever it takes to prevent his neighbor from getting away.”

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Lauren Minore, Yulia Drozd, Natasha Popova, Tanya Stukalova and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.