LONDON and KYIV — Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile toward southeastern Ukraine on Thursday, officials in Kiev said, but a U.S. official told ABC News that Russia had launched “an experimental medium-range ballistic missile against Ukraine” near Dnipro.

The official said the United States had informed Ukraine and other close allies and partners in recent days about Russia’s possible use of the weapon to help them prepare. According to the official, Russia probably only has “a handful” of these experimental missiles.

Two US officials previously told ABC News that it was not an ICBM but an intermediate-range ballistic missile, or IRBM.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking Thursday after the missile launch, said Russia had the right to use its weapons against the military installations of countries that use their weapons against Russia.

The Kremlin announced earlier this week that Putin had updated the country’s nuclear doctrine, a move that lowered the bar for Russia to respond with nuclear weapons. Russian ICBMs are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, although the missile launched Thursday was reportedly not equipped with one.

The Ukrainian military was “95 percent sure” the strike was an ICBM, a Ukrainian official told ABC News, but added that they were still examining the missile’s parts on the ground and had not yet reached a final conclusion.

“Today was a new Russian missile. All parameters: speed, altitude — match those of an intercontinental ballistic missile,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskii said in a statement on social media. “All expert reviews are ongoing.”

Moscow did not immediately confirm the launch, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declining to comment, saying questions about it should instead be directed to the Russian Defense Ministry.

The Ukrainian Air Force announced Thursday morning that it tracked the launch of the ICBM, along with six additional missiles, all aimed at the Nipro region. The ICBM appears to have been launched from the Astrakhan region in southwestern Russia, Ukrainian military officials said.

All the missiles were fired in about two hours, starting at about 5 a.m. local time, Ukraine said.

All targeted businesses and critical infrastructure, but only the missile that Ukraine identified as an ICBM hit the city, Ukraine said. The other six missiles were shot down. No casualties or significant damage were reported, officials said.

U.S. officials said assessment of the launch, the type of missile and warhead and the damage from Dnipro was ongoing. The distance from what Ukraine said was the launch point to the Dnipro strike site is about 600 miles, a shorter distance than an ICBM would be expected to travel.

Two experts told ABC News that the projectile, seen in videos circulating online, appeared to be “a ballistic missile with MIRV capabilities.”

The launch of an ICBM, if confirmed as such, would come amid concerns that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could escalate further. This week, the Ukrainian military was launched for the first time USA made ATACMS missiles to targets in Russia, days after US President Joe Biden permissive for such use of long-range weapons.

Kiev launched six ATACMS at targets on Russian soil on Tuesday, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Zelenskyi said he would not confirm whether Ukraine used ATACMS to carry out a strike on an ammunition depot in Russia’s Bryansk region, but said Ukraine has ATACMS and “will use all of these” against Russia.

Hours after Russia announced it had shot down five ATACMS on Tuesday, the Kremlin announced that Putin had updated the country’s nuclear doctrine, a move that lowered the bar for Russia to respond with nuclear weapons. Russian ICBMs are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, although the missile launched Thursday was reportedly not equipped with one.

Following that warning, Ukraine fired long-range British Storm Shadow cruise missiles into Russia for the first time on Wednesday, a Ukrainian military unit involved in the operation told ABC News. At least 10 of those rockets hit a property in the village of Marino, the unit said.

They were targeting a command post where North Korean army generals and officers were present, the unit said. More than 10,000 North Korean soldiers said to be operating alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region.

Ukraine’s 413th Separate Unmanned Systems Battalion, which helped provide fire control for the strikes, told ABC News there was information indicating high-ranking North Koreans were present.

Zelensky launched the Russian attack on Thursday, saying Russia and its leader were “terrified”.

“Obviously, Putin is horrified when there is simply a normal life next to him. When people simply have dignity. When a country simply wants to be and has the right to be independent,” Zelenskyy said. “Putin is doing whatever it takes to keep his neighbor from breaking free from his grip.”

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Lauren Minore, Yulia Drozd and Natasha Popova contributed to this report.