A U.S. intelligence assessment has concluded Russia might use its lethal new intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine again in "coming days," a U.S. official said Wednesday.

The experimental Oreshnik missile is seen by U.S. officials more as an attempt at intimidation than a game-changer on the battlefield in Ukraine, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive information.

The official said Russia has only a handful of the missiles and that they carry a smaller warhead than other missiles that Russia has regularly launched at Ukraine.