Photograph: State Emergency Service Of Ukraine/Reuters
Summary of the day
A western official has cast doubt on a Ukrainian claim that Russia fired an ICBM for the first time during the war, targeting the city of Dnipro, but Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has insisted the speed and altitude of the missile matched the characteristics of an ICBM
Nine projectiles were launched at enterprises and critical infrastructure in Dnipro between 5am and 7am local time from the Astrakhan region of Russia, the air forces said, meaning that, if confirmed, the missile probably travelled about 500 miles (800km) to reach its target. The missile was said to have hit “without consequences” Ukraine’s air force said
Russia has not officially acknowledged the use of an ICBM, and its defence ministry omitted any reference to it in its daily briefing
The UK prime minister’s spokesperson has said British intelligence services are “urgently” looking into the reports
In Ukraine Zelenskyy has attended a commemoration ceremony dedicated to those killed during the 2013-2014 Euromaidan protests, which started on 21 November 2023
The head of Dnipropetrovsk region, Serhii Lysak, said 17 people were wounded in a Russian strike on Kryvyi Rih
The defence ministers of South Korea and Japan have both condemned North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Russia during talks on Thursday
The EU’s top official on migration has said she is concerned about the security implications of nearly half a million visas that were issued to Russian citizens to visit Europe in 2023
Hungary announced overnight it is to install an air defence system in the north-eastern part of the country as the threat of an escalation of the Ukraine-Russia war is “greater than ever”, its defence minister said
Updated
Zelenskyy says Ukraine investigating missile after speed and altitude indicated it was an ICBM
In a statement on social media Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that the speed and altitude of a missile fired at Dnipro had indicated it was an ICBM, but said “examinations are now under way.”
In the message, posted to coincide with the anniversary of the 21 November beginning of the Euromaidan protests in 2013, Zelenskyy described Russia as Ukraine’s “crazy neighbour”, saying:
[Putin] is so afraid that he is already using new missiles. And he is looking around the world for other places to find weapons: now in Iran, now in North Korea.
It is obvious that Putin is using Ukraine as a training ground. It is obvious that Putin is afraid when there is simply a normal life around him. When people just have dignity. When the country simply wants to be and has the right to be independent.
Putin is doing everything he can to prevent his neighbour from slipping out of his hands. And I thank all Ukrainian men, all Ukrainian women who protect Ukraine from this evil – steadfastly, bravely, firmly. Worthily. This is one of the main words about Ukraine – dignity. And this is a word that will probably never be said about Russia.
