Sylvie Claire / March 19, 2022
The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that it used hypersonic missiles Kinjal to destroy an underground weapons warehouse in western Ukraine.
Russia had never before reported the use of this ballistic missile in the two conflicts where it is a belligerent, Ukraine and Syria. It has been deployed numerous times in exercises since the first successful test in 2018. According to the state agency Ria Novosti, its use is a first. The highly maneuverable missile type defies all air defense systems, according to Moscow.
On March 18, the Kinzhal aircraft complex with its hypersonic ballistic missiles destroyed a large underground missile and ammunition depot of the Ukrainian Army Aviation in the locality of Delyatin in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, announced Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
The Kinjal hypersonic ballistic missiles and the Zircon cruise missiles belong to a family of new weapons developed by Russia that Putin calls invincible. Successfully tested in 2018, the Kinjal (dagger in Russian) hit all their targets at a distance of up to more than 1,000 km during the tests, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.