In a week of escalating tensions, the Ukrainian military has accused Russia of firing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at Ukraine for the first time. While an ICBM is capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, the attack on Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region on Thursday morning was confirmed to be non-nuclear.
According to a senior analyst specializing in strategic policy, the Russians removed the nuclear warheads from the missile before launching it, possibly equipping it with a conventional warhead or launching it as an inert missile. The use of this powerful long-range weapon is believed to be a message directed at Ukraine's Western allies, following Ukraine's recent use of American ATACMS and British-French-made Storm Shadow missiles against Russia.
