Russia’s use of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile marks a decisive, and potentially dangerous moment in Moscow’s conflict with the West.

Two days ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a change in the country's policy for employing nuclear weapons in conflict. Then, on Thursday, Russia attacked the Ukrainian city of Dnipro with a new type of ballistic missile capable of one day delivering multiple nuclear warheads to distant targets with little warning.

Ukraine first used the missiles in a strike on Russia's Bryansk region on Tuesday, according to the ministry of defence in Moscow, just a day after receiving clearance from US officials. Five missiles were shot down and one damaged, with its fragments causing a fire at a military facility in the region, it said.