Russia this morning allegedly fired an intercontinental ballistic missile as part of a brutal barrage of targets in Ukraine just one day after Kyivs forces battered a Russian command headquarters in the Kursk region with British Storm Shadow missiles.
The strike comes after Ukraine used US and British missiles to demolish targets inside Russia this week, something Moscow had warned for months would be seen as a major escalation.
Ukraines air force reported that an ICBM had been fired from a base in Russias southern Astrakhan region on the Caspian Sea early this morning - the first time Russia has used such a powerful, long-range missile during the war.
The air force did not specify which ICBM had been fired, but its launch comes mere hours after a Russian military analyst said Moscows forces could unleash its fearsome RS-26 Frontier missile in retaliation for the Storm Shadow strikes.
The Frontier missile is a terrifying, nuclear-capable weapon weighing roughly 50 tonnes with a range of up to 3,600 miles.
It has never before been used in combat, but analysts said it could be deployed with a conventional warhead in a strike that Ukraines air defences would be powerless to intercept.
Kyiv has not suffered an ICBM strike since the war began in February 2022, with Russias military deploying smaller, slower Iskander missiles and a handful of hypersonic Kinzhal projectiles alongside hundreds upon hundreds of attack drones.
Meanwhile, Russias Foreign Ministry said this morning the opening of a new US ballistic missile defence base in northern Poland would increase the overall level of nuclear danger and had been added to a list of possible targets for Russia to strike.
The air defence base, situated in the town of Redzikowo near the Baltic coast forming part of a broader NATO missile shield, was opened on November 13.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said today: This is another frankly provocative step in a series of deeply destabilising actions by the Americans and their allies...
Given the nature and level of threats posed by such Western military facilities, the missile defence base in Poland has long been added to the list of priority targets for potential destruction.
Russia this morning allegedly fired an intercontinental ballistic missile as part of a brutal barrage of targets in Ukraine
The RS-26 or Frontier missiles weigh up to 50 tonnes and have a 3,600 mile-range, although they have never been used in combat
The Storm Shadow missiles struck a building with an underground control room where Russian and North Korean military officials are believed to be holed up
The Russian attack this morning targeted enterprises and critical infrastructure in the central-eastern city of Dnipro, the air force said, at a time of escalating moves in the 33-month-old war launched by Russia in Ukraine.
The Kremlin deployed Tu-95MS strategic bombers to launch cruise missiles, and MiG-31K fighters to fire hypersonic Kinzhal rockets in a calculated bid to plunge Ukraine into darkness as a bitter winter approaches.
Reports said Yuzhmash, a prominent Ukrainian state-owned aerospace and defence manufacturer - was also hit in this mornings assault.
NATO scrambled F-16 warplanes over neighbouring Poland and ground-based air defence and radar systems were put on the highest state of readiness amid the attack, while Ukraines air force reported air defences shot down six Kh-101 cruise missiles.
Some Russian missiles also reportedly struck the towns of Kremenchuk and Myrhorod, while areas in Kyiv, Odesa and Sumy regions suffered blackouts as the electrical grid gave out.
The wide-ranging attacks by Russia this morning come on Ukraines annual Day of Dignity and Freedom, honouring the beginning of its struggle for independence and liberty.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address today: We remember the real price of freedom for Ukraine.
And we do not forget all our people of different times who fought for Ukraine and became a model of dignity for the world.
Thanks to people, thanks to the desire of our people to preserve freedom and independence for Ukraine, our state will always be on the political map of the world. Always free and sovereign.
This mornings bombardment of Ukraine also comes less than 24 hours after Kyiv launched UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles at targets in Kursk.
Fragments of the Storm Shadow missiles that struck a military facility in the Russian town of Maryino were recovered by military bloggers on Wednesday afternoon, with unverified pictures shared widely on social media.
The Mail understands the attacks, which followed Ukraine firing US-supplied ATACMS missiles on Tuesday, were personally approved by Sir Keir Starmer.
One image shows a written indentation on a chunk of metal reading: Storm Shadow
Britains Storm Shadow missiles are capable of dodging air defences - making them a nightmare attack weapon for their enemy
ATACMS - Army Tactical Missile - being fired from an M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System
According to Moskovky Komsomolets, a Moscow-based newspaper, a Russian military expert had openly talked about retaliation for the Storm Shadow strike with an ICBM.
Timur Syrlanov, a Russian military analyst, said Ukraine should be trembling over the use of the RS-26 Frontier rocket.
In this situation, we will not use nuclear weapons, but the neo-Nazis and their Western allies, I think, will appreciate in the coming days the blow that will be dealt to Ukraines critical infrastructure and, possibly, to targets in Kyiv itself, he said.
Let them tremble, be afraid, and wait for landings anywhere. Moreover, the enemy understands perfectly well that our weapons can reach any targets throughout Ukraine.
Putin on Tuesday provocatively signed off changes to the countrys laws on nuclear weapons to make it easier for them to be deployed against Ukraine.
And his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov chillingly warned that the strikes by Ukraine were a clear signal that Kyiv wanted to escalate and that Russia would react accordingly.
The terrifying sabre rattling was confirmed by the Russian Presidents close ally Dmitry Medvedev. Posting on X, the Deputy Chair of Russias security council said it meant World War III.
It came after Kyiv launched six ATACMS rockets from an undisclosed location over the border into Russian territory on Tuesday.
The strikes triggered a fiery explosion at a depot in Karachev, believed to be storing ammunition supplied by North Korea, around 75miles from the Ukrainian border.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with New People partys leader Alexey Nechaev in Moscow on November 19
Images being shared on social media show what appear to be fragments of a British Storm Shadow missile in Marino, Kursk
Residents in the village of Marino, Kursk, found fragments from a Storm Shadow missile
As tensions escalate in the Russia-Ukraine war, the UKs Defence Secretary announced the British military would be hit by £500 million worth of cuts.
John Healy said the Labour Government would scrap six major programmes across the Armed Forces, including the Armys main fleet of drones and two amphibious assault ships – HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark.
The plans have been criticised by former defence secretary Ben Wallace who argued they would send a message of weakness to the UKs adversaries.
Writing in The Telegraph, he said: For our enemies to be deterred they must know we intend to have no holes in our capabilities, or at least we will soon be upgrading them.
To tell the world we are scaling back our capabilities when our enemies are doing the opposite is pure folly.
No one is fooled by the tired and misleading excuse by Labour that we have to wait for a defence review – yet another one.
A fiery explosion lit up the night sky around 77 miles from the nearest Ukrainian border at an ammunition store in Karachev, in Russias Bryansk region, on Tuesday
Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19
Vladimir Putin s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov (pictured) chillingly warned that Moscow would react accordingly as he described the strike as a signal Kyiv wanted to escalate
Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a joint press conference with Denmarks prime minister at the presidential palace in Kyiv, on November 19
In videos recorded in the village of Maryino in Russias Kursk region yesterday, multiple explosions were heard preceded by high-pitched whistling apparently from incoming missiles. The footage also showed smoke rising from buildings.
Unconfirmed reports suggested Ukraine had targeted an underground command and control facility 50 miles inside Russia with Storm Shadow missiles.
The navigational data and satellite intelligence which facilitated the air strikes was understood to have been provided by the US.
The strikes, which have not been confirmed by the British Government, follow the use of UK Storm Shadows to eliminate Russian military infrastructure in Crimea.
The significant difference is that while the UK regards occupied Crimea as Ukrainian sovereign territory, Kursk is recognised by Britain as belonging to Russia.
It is understood that the last time British weapons were used on Russian sovereign territory was during clashes between an Allied force and the Bolsheviks in the Arctic Archangel region in 1918-19.
Before that it was during the Crimean War in the 1850s.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Healey declined to confirm the reports or divulge any operational details.
He told MPs: We have seen over recent weeks a significant change in the [Russian] action and the rhetoric on Ukraine.
We as a nation and a Government are doubling down on our support for Ukraine and intend to do more.