This is the first time Russia has used its so-called Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile in combat. The launch also serves as a warning to the West.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address that the attack was a test of Russia's "newest missile," an IRBM called "Oreshnik."

Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile during an attack on Ukraine on Thursday, Kyiv's air force said, in the first known use in the war of such a powerful, nuclear-capable weapon with a range of thousands of kilometres.

Russian forces launched an intercontinental ballistic missile at the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, Ukraine’s air force said Thursday — an attack that, if confirmed, would represent a dramatic intensification in the missile war between the two nations.

The new design is based on the previous RS-26 Rubezh ballistic missile, according to the Pentagon. Readers can get up to speed on what else is already known about the missile strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro in The War Zone‘s initial reporting here.

Russia's use of what President Vladmir Putin said was a new intermediate-range missile against Ukraine was all about signaling -- "a political strike not a military one," as one analyst put it. Here's what Putin was probably hoping to achieve.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia fired a new, non-nuclear intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine, part of a wide-ranging TV address that sharply criticized

The Ukrainian Air Force claims that Russia launched a conventionally armed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) today at the city of Dnipro, in the center of the country. In either case, the act is unprecedented for the war in Ukraine and it would mark the first use of either one of these types of weapons in combat anywhere.

Russia has fired around 60 North Korean missiles at Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began. Source: Andrii Cherniak, spokesperson for Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), in an interview with Donbas Realii (a Radio Liberty project).

Over the past week, the occupiers launched 120 missile strikes and 500 airstrikes with bombs. Additionally, Russia deployed nearly 660 drones to attack Ukraine, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Telegram channel.