On Thursday, a Russian warplane struck the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in what witnesses described as an unusual attack.

The attack caused a blast that lasted for three hours.

The missile used was so powerful that Ukrainian officials said it had the characteristics of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Western officials denied this, saying that the United States would have put the country on nuclear alert if such an attack had occurred.

Hours after the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address that Russia had tested a “new conventional medium-range” missile, codenamed Oreshnik (meaning hazel tree in Russian).

The hazel tree is a large shrub-like tree with leaves that spread out in clusters. The shape of the tree resembles an explosion.

Putin said the missile was traveling at Mach 10 (ten times the speed of sound), or 2.5 to 3 kilometers per second.

He added, “Currently, there is no way to counter this weapon.”

Putin said the missile strike targeted a large military-industrial complex in Dnipro, which he said was used to produce military equipment and missiles.

He described it as a “test strike” that was successful because the missile hit its target. The next day, during a meeting with defense officials, Putin said that testing of the missile in a combat situation would continue.