Russia uses hypersonic missiles in Ukraine for first time on arms depot

Gulf Today Report

The Russian military reported on Saturday that it has used its latest hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles, to destroy a large weapons depot in Ukraine's western Ivano-Frankivsk region, for the first time in combat.

A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said Kinzhal missiles destroyed an underground warehouse storing Ukrainian missiles and aviation ammunition in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine.

Russia used its newest Kinzhal hypersonic missiles on Friday to destroy an underground missile and ammunition storage site in western Ukraine close to the border with NATO member Romania, in what analysts said was the first use of such weapons in the world.

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The defence ministry made the announcement on Saturday, with the escalation coming on the 24th day of the conflict as Ukrainians are putting up fierce resistance and the advance of Russian troops stalled, according to Western officials.

Late Friday, Ukrainian officials said that Mariupol lost its access to the Azov Sea, which is connected to the much larger Black Sea.

Shelling continued at the edges of Kyiv on Friday, while a barrage of missiles were launched against an aircraft repair installation at an airport outside the western city of Lviv, close to the border with Poland.

Hypersonic missiles can be used to deliver conventional warheads, more rapidly and precisely than other missiles.

But their capacity to deliver nuclear weapons could add to a country's threat, increasing the danger of a nuclear conflict.