Kyiv says Moscow fired ballistic missile

KYIV — Moscow on Thursday launched an intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine for the first time, Kyiv said, marking the latest escalation of the conflict since Ukraine fired Western-supplied long-range missiles on Russia.

The Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement that Russian forces in the morning had launched several types of missiles at the central city of Dnipro, targeting critical infrastructure.

"In particular, an intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation," the statement said.

A source in the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed to Agence France-Presse that it was the first time in the 33-month-old conflict that its forces had deployed the weapon.

The source added it was "obvious" that the missile, which is designed to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, did not carry a nuclear charge.

Asked whether Moscow fired the missile, which can hit targets thousands of kilometers away, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had "nothing to say on this topic".

Air defense units downed six missiles, the air force said, without elaborating on whether the intercontinental ballistic missile had been downed.

Serhiy Lysak, head of the wider region where Dnipro is located, said the Russian aerial bombardment had damaged a rehabilitation center and several homes, as well as an industrial enterprise. Two people were wounded, he added.

Russia and Ukraine have escalated their use of deadly long-range missiles over recent days since the United States gave permission to use its Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, against military targets inside Russia — a longstanding Ukrainian request.

Meanwhile, Russia said on Thursday its air defenses had shot down two British-made Storm Shadow missiles, a day after British media reported Ukraine had fired the weapons into Russia for the first time.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Russia is ready to consider any "realistic" peace initiative on the conflict that takes into account Russia's own interests and the situation on the ground.

"We are open to negotiations. We are ready to consider any realistic, nonpoliticized initiative — of course," Zakharova said, adding that Russia would only consider a settlement that is "based on taking into account our interests".

Agencies via Xinhua