Vladimir Putin has claimed Moscow launched a new hypersonic ballistic missile against Ukraine in response to strikes by Kyiv inside Russia using UK and US long-range missiles.

The Russian leader said the Oreshnik, or Hazel, medium-range missile had been used in some of its latest strikes. Earlier, Ukraine’s air force said Russia had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in an attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro – the first recorded use of the weapon during the war.

Ukrainian air defence forces said the missile – which has a range of more than 3,400 miles and can be used to carry nuclear warheads – was fired from Russia’s Astrakhan region, on the Caspian Sea. However, American officials said an initial US assessment indicated the strike was carried out with an intermediate-range ballistic missile which cannot travel so far, something backed by Putin’s remarks.

The UK and Britain are now “directly involved” in the Ukraine war as party after its Storm Shadow missiles used to strike targets inside Russia have dragged it in the conflict, Moscow’s ambassador has warned.

“Absolutely, Britain and UK is now directly involved in this war, because this firing cannot happen without Nato staff, British staff as well,” ambassador Anrei Kelin told Sky News.

“The US administration, support by France and the UK, has made a deliberate decision to make these strikes, which seriously escalates the situation, and it can bring a collision between the nuclear powers,” he said.

The Russian diplomat also called it “deliberate cheating of us”, claiming he was told that the British missiles would only be used inside Ukraine territory.

The United Nations chief has called on all parties in the Ukraine war to de-escalate the conflict after Russian president Vladimir Putin fired a new missile in Dnipro.

Russia’s use of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile was “yet another concerning and worrying development,” UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson said.

“All of this [is] going in the wrong direction,” his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said as he called on all parties to de-escalate the conflict and “to protect civilians, not hit civilian targets or critical civilian infrastructure”.

Russia is seeking to “terrorise” civilians and intimidate Ukraine’s allies with its new missile, Nato spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said .

“Deploying this capability will neither change the course of the conflict nor deter Nato allies from supporting Ukraine,” Ms Dakhlallah said.

The UK has signed a new security and defence partnership agreement with Moldova, as Ukraine’s western neighbour anxiously eyes Russia’s nearby invasion and accuses Moscow of meddling in its elections.

Pro-European president Maia Sandu won re-election last month, but by a smaller margin than expected, as a tiny margin of Moldovan voters backed a referendum to alter the constitution to include provisions on integration with the European Union, presented by premier Dorin Recean on Wednesday.

A UK government statement said the security partnership was aimed at “building on extensive cooperation between the two countries and strengthening Moldovan resilience against external threats”. Foreign secretary David Lammy said: “With Ukraine next door, Moldovans are constantly reminded of Russia’s oppression, imperialism and aggression.”

The deal included £2m to bolster Moldova’s protection against cyberattacks and a £5m grant to improve health services for refugees, as well as an agreement to ensure the return to Moldova of its nationals illegally staying in Britain.

Ukraine’s parliament has postponed a sitting due to have taken place today out of security concerns, public broadcaster Suspilne reported last night, quoting sources.

“On 22 November, plans called for a session of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament), which included questions to the government, but this was cancelled for reasons of potential security issues,” Suspilne said.

It said the order told members to keep their families out of Kyiv’s government district and quoted parliamentarians as saying that, for the moment, the next sitting was not scheduled until December.

The postponement occurred after Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin said Russia had struck the central city of Dnipro with a new medium-range hypersonic missile in response to Ukrainian use of Western missiles on targets in Russia.

Mr Putin suggested more could follow “in case of escalation of aggressive actions”.

Russia was sending a message by attacking Ukraine with an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of releasing multiple warheads at extremely high speeds, even if they are less accurate than cruise missiles or short-range ballistic missiles, said Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank.

“Why might you use it therefore?” Mr Savill said. “Signaling — signaling to the Ukrainians. We’ve got stuff that outrages you. But really signaling to the West ‘We’re happy to enter into a competition around intermediate range ballistic missiles. P.S.: These could be nuclear tipped. Do you really want to take that risk?’”

Military experts say that modern inter-continental ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles are extremely difficult to intercept, although Ukraine has previously claimed to have stopped some other weapons that Russia described as “unstoppable,” including the air-launched Kinzhal hypersonic missile.

David Albright, of the Washington-based think tank the Institute for Science and International Security, said he was “skeptical” of Mr Putin’s claim, adding that Russian technology sometimes “falls short.”

He suggested Mr Putin was “taunting the West to try to shoot it down… like a braggart boasting, taunting his enemy.”

Vladimir Putin announced the Kremlin fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile named “Orshenik” at Ukraine on Thursday in response to Kyiv’s use this week of American and British missiles capable of striking deeper into Russia.

Orshenik, Russian for hazelnut tree, he said flies at ten times the speed of sound and the US air defence systems will be powerless to stop the new missiles.

Mr Putin said it could be used to attack any Ukrainian ally whose missiles are used to attack Russia. The Russian leader said he will issue advance warnings if Moscow launches more strikes with the Oreshnik against Ukraine to allow civilians to evacuate to safety — something Moscow hasn’t done before previous aerial attacks.

Two lionesses which were rescued from a conflict zone in Ukraine have arrived at their new home in Scotland.

Luna and Plusza, both aged four, arrived at the Five Sisters Zoo, West Calder, West Lothian, on Wednesday night.

The lionesses were rescued from an area affected by heavy shelling in eastern Ukraine in 2022, before being moved through Kyiv, Poland, and Belgium to reach the safety of Scotland.