Russia launched an experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, the U.S. says

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched an experimental ballistic missile at the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro overnight, the U.S. National Security Council says, calling it a possible effort to intimidate Ukraine and its allies.

The Ukrainian government had raised alarm earlier Thursday suggesting the missile had characteristics of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

But later, an assessment from the White House’s National Security Council said “Russia launched an experimental medium-range ballistic missile against Ukraine,” adding that Ukraine has withstood Russian attacks with “significantly larger warheads than this weapon.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has now confirmed the launch of a ballistic missile during a speech.

The attack came during a week of intense fighting in the nearly three years of war since Russia invaded Ukraine, and it followed U.S. authorization earlier this week for Ukraine to use its sophisticated weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia.

“Russia may be seeking to use this capability to try to intimidate Ukraine and its supporters, or generate attention in the information space, but it will not be a gamechanger in this conflict,” the NSC statement said.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Thursday that Russia launched the missile from the Astrakhan region in southeastern Russia, more than 770 miles away. The Ukrainian government said it was one of nine rockets fired at Dnipro, damaging an industrial facility, a rehabilitation center for people with disabilities and residential buildings. Officials said two people were injured, according to The Associated Press.

Earlier this week, Ukraine fired a series of U.S.-made longer-range missiles, known as ATACMS, into Russia for the first time, following long-sought approval from the Biden administration.

Ukrainian energy worker Serhii Nikolaienko, 24, said he wishes Ukraine’s partners had allowed Ukrainian troops to use long-range weapons far earlier in the war.

“If we had kicked the war in the teeth two years or two and a half years ago, I think there would have not have been such destruction” in Ukraine, he told NPR.

Reikhan Dzhumaieva, a 22-year-old translator in Kyiv, agreed.

“It’s a great thing to target Russians and Russian troops before they enter the territory of Ukraine,” she said.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

NPR’s Joanna Kakissis contributed to this report from Athens.