Russian military leaders have been left red-faced after bragging about an “unstoppable” hypersonic missile that has crash landed and injured eight people without even reaching Ukraine.
Footage appears to show the burning remains of the missile dubbed “dagger” after it came down over Stavropol Krai, in Russia's North Caucasus region, on Wednesday.
And eight people were injured after the hypersonic missile, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, crashed.
“Unflyable weather today for hypersonic missiles. This is the place where the 'Kinzhal' missile fell. It was probably flying from the Caspian Sea to Ukraine,” said a statement from the Ukraine army.
The 'Kinzhal', which means 'Dagger', is a Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic aero-ballistic air-to-surface missile with a claimed range of over 2,000 miles and speed of Mach 12. The Russian army has been using it in Ukraine and called it “unstoppable”.
Vladimir Vladimirov, the governor of Stavropol Krai, in Russia, said: "There were 8 victims in total. Of these, one person received minor abrasions and bruises. He received first aid at the Turkmen hospital and is now at home.
"Four people were sent to regional medical institutions, one of them is a child. Three people are now in the Stavropol Regional Hospital, one of them is in serious condition, this is an EMERCOM officer who acted at the scene.
"He has numerous injuries, burns to his face and eyes. Two more people are in the ophthalmology department, with corneal injuries and small fragments, they are being operated on now.
"The child is in the children's regional hospital. His condition is moderate, much easier than in adults. The child's eyes were also damaged. There are three people in the Turkmen regional hospital. Of these, one is in a state of moderate severity, two are in a satisfactory condition.
"The victims are being provided with all the necessary medical care by highly qualified specialists, all the necessary medical equipment and medicines are available.
"I continue to monitor the entire situation with the victims."
Russia’s state-owned news agency TASS initially said that the device was "an unknown aircraft" and later claimed it to be a "drone". They attributed this information to "a source in the emergency services".
It comes as Russian forces have made large retreats in the north east of Ukraine.
Thousands of Russian troops fled Izium last weekend after occupying the city and using it as a logistics hub in the Kharkiv region. They left behind large amounts of ammunition and equipment.
Ukrainian authorities have now found a mass grave of more than 440 bodies in the town and President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia must be held responsible.
