Timur Syrlanov, a Russian military analyst, told Moskovky Komsomolets that Ukrainian people should be “trembling” over the potential use of the missile.

“In this situation, we will not use nuclear weapons, but the neo-Nazis and their Western allies, I think, will appreciate in the coming days the blow that will be dealt to Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and, possibly, to targets in Kyiv itself,” he said.

Kyiv was sent into a state of frenzy on Wednesday morning when the US embassy announced that it had closed for the day. In a statement, the embassy said its employees had been instructed to shelter in place after the US received information of a “potential significant air attack”.

Americans in the city were urged to pay special attention to the city’s regular air raid alerts.