Ukraine says Russia has launched an intercontinental ballistic missile overnight targeting Dnipro city in the central-east of the country, which, if confirmed, would be the first time Moscow has used such a missile in the war.

The Kremlin on Friday said Russia's launch of an experimental ballistic missile against Ukraine should be understood as a warning to the West, as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte convened a key meeting to discuss the implications of the strike.

The attack with an intermediate-range ballistic missile has spurred fears of a major escalation in the ongoing war and prompted Ukraine to request new air defenses.

The Russian missile that struck the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday flew for 15 minutes and reached a maximum speed of beyond Mach 11, Kyiv's top spy agency said on Friday. "The flight time of this Russian missile from the moment of its launch in the Astrakhan region to its impact in the city of Dnipro was 15 minutes,

Russia's new intermediate-range ballistic missile has NATO members on edge after the missiles were used in a strike on Ukraine early Thursday morning.

This week's saber rattling has come during a period in which the war has passed 1,000 days and at a pivotal moment in the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv.