Russian ballistic missile strike sparks ICBM row

There were fears of a massive escalation in the Ukraine war on Thursday with Kyiv claiming that Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at one of its eastern cities, before Moscow confirmed the attack to be from "one of the newest" hypersonic, medium-range ballistic missile systems with president Vladimir Putin threatening to strike western military facilities.

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Putin's warning came in a week when Ukraine used more sophisticated weapons from the US and UK to strike deep into Russia, significantly raising the temperature in the war, which also included Moscow lowering its threshold for a nuclear strike.

"In response to the use of American and British long-range weapons, on November 21 of this year, the Russian armed forces launched a combined strike on one of the facilities of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine," Putin said in a televised address.

"We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities," Putin added.

The distinction is significant since ICBMs have never been used in a war since their development six decades ago, and such an act by Russia could have been one of the turning points in a war that has now being raging for more than 1,000 days.

A US official, requesting anonymity, told Reuters: "Russia may be seeking to use this capability to try to intimidate Ukraine and its supporters... but it will not be a game changer in this conflict".