‘It was a ballistic missile,’ Western official rejects Ukraine’s ICBM claim against Russia

File Photo: A RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system (L) and a Tigr-M all-terrain infantry mobility vehicle (R) drive on Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2024.  Photograph:(AFP)

A Western official on Thursday (Nov 21) denied a claim by Ukraine that Russia had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from its southern Astrakhan region, saying it was a ballistic missile.

“It was instead a ballistic missile, which was aimed at Dnipro, in Ukraine’s southeast,” the western official was quoted as saying by ABC News.

The reported strike comes in a possible retaliation to Ukraine’s use of US and British missiles to strike targets inside Russia this week. Moscow had, for months, warned that the use of American missiles to strike inside its borders would be seen as a major escalation.