A day after Vladimir Putin revised Moscow’s nuclear doctrine, the Kremlin launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) targeting Ukrainian territory. The strike, reportedly aimed at an unidentified location in the Dnipro region, was carried out with a conventional (non-nuclear) warhead and had the potential to inflict significant damage on critical Ukrainian infrastructure. This development follows Kyiv’s recent use of U.S. and British-made missiles to strike targets within Russia, marking a notable escalation in the 33-month conflict. The incident also precedes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s planned visit to the United States, where he intends to present his “victory plan” to Washington.

Although the Kremlin denies it, Russia’s firing of an ICBM with a conventional warhead is a stern warning to Ukraine and its Western allies that Moscow’s red lines must be respected. It also demonstrates that Putin is willing to use his nuclear arsenal to escalate the war, even in the face of increasing international condemnation.

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The ICBM in question is considered an RS-26 Rubezh, which can travel up to 6,000 kilometers (3,728 miles). It was reported that the strike took place on Tuesday morning. The US Embassy in Kyiv issued a brief statement warning its citizens of the attack, citing the revised Russian doctrine that holds open the possibility of a nuclear response after a conventional strike raises critical threats to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia and its ally Belarus.

A senior official on the sidelines of a meeting of Asian defense ministers in Laos confirmed that the missile used was an ICBM; however, he declined to elaborate further on the type or description of the missile. The official said the impact of the attack was being assessed, but the use of such a powerful weapon would be a clear act of escalation.

It is not the first time that a Russian ICBM has been deployed in the conflict, but it is the first known time that such a weapon has been fired at Ukraine. The assault on Dnipro reportedly also included the use of aeroballistic Kh-47M2 “Kinzhal” missiles and seven cruise missiles fired from Tu-95MS strategic bombers.

The ICBM in question is believed to have been launched from the Astrakhan region of Russia. It was reportedly spotted by Ukrainian air defense forces, who were able to intercept six of the missiles. The remaining two destroyed critical Ukrainian power facilities in the Dnipro, Odesa, and Sumy regions, causing widespread outages. Ukraine has implemented emergency power outages in these areas to mitigate the impact of the attacks.