MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Friday said it was in "no doubt" that Washington had understood the warning from President Vladimir Putin following Russia's strike on Ukraine with a missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

"We are in no doubt that the current administration in Washington has had the chance to familiarise itself with this announcement and understand it," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters a day after the strike.

Putin on Thursday said the conflict in Ukraine had characteristics of a "global" war and did not rule out strikes on Western countries.

Peskov said the message was "comprehensive, clear and logical."

In recent days, Ukraine has fired US and UK-supplied missiles at Russian territory for the first time, escalating already sky-high tensions in the nearly three-year-long conflict.

Moscow says this makes Western countries that authorise Ukraine to use their missiles to hit Russia direct participants in the conflict.

"The main message is that the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries, which produce missiles, supply them to Ukraine and subsequently take part in carrying out strikes on Russian territory, cannot remain without a reaction from the Russian side," Peskov said.

— AFP