Dnipro, Ukraine - Kyiv accused Russia of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile attack on Ukraine Thursday for the first time since the war began.

Ukraine said the missile had targeted the central city of Dnipro, leaving two people wounded.

The Ukrainian air force said in a statement that Russia in the early hours of the morning had launched several types of missiles at Dnipro, targeting critical infrastructure.

"In particular, an intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation," the statement said.

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A source in the Ukrainian air force confirmed to AFP it was the first time such a weapon had been used since Russia invaded in February 2022.

The source added it was "obvious" that the missile, which is designed to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, did not carry a nuclear charge.

Asked whether Moscow fired the missile, which can hit targets thousands of miles away, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had "nothing to say on this topic."

Thursday's events were only the latest step in an escalatory cycle that began with the Biden administration allowing Kyiv to use US-supplied weapons in attacks on Russian territory – which Ukraine promptly did.

Russia claimed it was making "maximum effort" to avoid a nuclear conflict after it updated its nuclear doctrine this week to allow for the use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states.

"We have stressed in the context of our doctrine that Russia is taking a responsible position to make maximum effort not to allow such a conflict," Peskov said Thursday.

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Ukrainian air defense units downed six missiles, the air force said, without elaborating on whether the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was among those.

The head of the wider region where the city of Dnipro is located said the Russian aerial bombardment had damaged a rehabilitation center and several homes, as well as an industrial enterprise.

The developments came at a critical moment on the ground for Ukraine, as its defensive lines buckle under mounting Russian pressure across the sprawling front line.

Russia also on Thursday claimed deeper advances in the war-battered Donetsk region, announcing its forces had captured another village close to Kurakhove, closing in on the town after months of steady advances.