For the first time in history, a country has admitted to using a hypersonic weapon in a military conflict.
General Igor Konoshenkov, a spokesman for Russia’s defense ministry, said on Friday that the Russian air force launched a kinzhal hypersonic missile to destroy an underground storage site for military weapons and ammunition in western Ukraine.
The MiG-31k is the most likely aircraft in Russia’s arsenal capable of launching this rocket.
To refresh your memory, the kinzhal, which translates to “dagger,” is a hypersonic weapon that travels at speeds up to ten times the speed of sound at this time.
Because Russia is the only country known to have this type of weapon in active service, and because the target was in western Ukraine, military analysts say the launch and its impact on the target could be easily checked by western military experts.
Analysts believe that the use of the kinzhal hypersonic missile in that area sends a message to the west that Russia means business in Ukraine and will not hesitate to use any weapon in its arsenal to achieve victory.
Experts also point out that this is the first time Russia has used cutting-edge weapons in the Ukraine conflict, as most of the weapons used thus far have been older, with some even being Soviet in origin.
On Sunday, March 20 Russia launched another hypersonic missile at a Ukrainian fuel depot.
Russia said on Sunday that a Kinzhal hypersonic missile had hit a Ukrainian fuel depot.
They also claimed that Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea were used to destroy an armor repair plant.
According to Major General Igor Konashenkov, a Russian spokesman, the Kinzhal hypersonic missile struck a Ukrainian fuel depot near the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv.
The strike marked Russia’s second use of Kinzhal, a weapon capable of striking targets 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) away at speeds ten times the speed of sound.
Check Mandy News live update on russia ukraine war HERE.
