Russia says U.S. base in Redzikowo raises nuclear danger. Polish MFA: it's purely defensive

The air defence base, situated in the town of Redzikowo near the Baltic coast, part of a broader NATO missile shield, was opened on November 13.

"This is another frankly provocative step in a series of deeply destabilising actions by the Americans and their allies in the North Atlantic Alliance in the strategic sphere," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

She accused the United States of actions aimed at "projecting American power" into regions far from its own territory, which, according to Zakharova, is designed to "apply military pressure on Russia and certain other nuclear states."

"This leads to undermining strategic stability, increasing strategic risks and, as a result, to an increase in the overall level of nuclear danger."

Paweł Wroński, spokesperson for Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said there were no nuclear missiles at the base, which was purely for defence.

"It is a base that serves the purpose of defence, not attack," Wroński said. "Such threats will certainly serve as an argument to strengthen Poland's and NATO's air defences, and should also be considered by the United States."

"It is intended to counter ballistic missiles, particularly from rogue states - countries that base their policies on constant threats, claiming they will invade others, and consider such political banditry as their way of conducting policy," he stressed.

The U.S. base at Redzikowo is part of a broader NATO missile shield, dubbed "Aegis Ashore", which the alliance says can intercept short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

"Given the nature and level of threats posed by such Western military facilities, the missile defense base in Poland has long been added to the list of priority targets for potential destruction, which, if necessary, can be executed with a wide range of advanced weapons," Zakharova said.

The NATO missile shield includes sites in Poland, Romania as well as U.S Navy destroyers at a naval base in Spain and an early warning radar in Turkey, according to NATO.

The base's completion is one of the final steps in the long-running U.S. program known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA), which constitutes the American contribution to NATO's integrated air and missile defense system.

Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile during an attack on Ukraine on Thursday, Kyiv's air force said, in the first known use in the war of a powerful weapon designed to deliver nuclear strikes thousands of kilometres away.

The launch was the latest sign of rapidly mounting tensions in the 33-month-old war after Ukraine fired U.S. and British missiles at targets inside Russia this week despite warnings by Moscow that it would see such action as a major escalation.

Security experts said that, if confirmed, it would be the first military use of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) - strategic weapons designed to deliver nuclear warheads and are an important part of Russia's nuclear deterrent.

The Ukrainians did not specify what kind of warhead the missile had or what type of missile it was. There was no suggestion it was nuclear-armed.

Russia did not immediately comment on the Ukrainian air force statement. Asked by reporters about the air force statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters to contact the Russian military for comment.

Ukrainska Pravda, a Kyiv-based media outlet, cited anonymous sources saying the missile was an RS-26 Rubezh, a solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 5,800 km, according to the Arms Control Association.

The RS-26 was first successfully tested in 2012, and is estimated to be 12 metres (40 ft) long and weigh 36 tons, according to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). It said the RS-26 can carry an 800-kg (1,765-pound)nuclear warhead.

The Russian missile attack targeted enterprises and critical infrastructure in the central-eastern city of Dnipro, the air force said.