The Russian military has said it will continue using its state-of-the-art hypersonic missile to hit particularly important targets in Ukraine. Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said the Kinzhal hypersonic missile "has proven its efficiency in destroying heavily fortified special facilities".
He said a Kinzhal missile was used on Friday to hit a Soviet-era arsenal for storing missiles near the western town of Deliatyn in the Carpathian Mountains, the first time the new weapon was used in combat. It was also used in a strike on the fuel depot in Kostiantynivka near the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv over the weekend.
Maj Gen Konashenkov noted that Kinzhal was used for these strikes due to its high kinetic energy and its ability to penetrate defences. He said that Kinzhal missiles were fired at a distance of more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles).
Kinzhal, one of an array of hypersonic weapons developed by Russia in recent years, has a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) and flies at a speed 10 times the speed of sound. It is carried by specially redesigned MiG-31 fighter jets.
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