Russia’s defense ministry has touted the Kinzhal hypersonic missile as impossible to shoot down or intercept.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down six Russian hypersonic missiles as Moscow launched a fresh wave of strikes overnight, according to Kyiv.
Russia launched 18 missile strikes across Ukraine at about 3.30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a post to social media.
Six Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles were launched from Russian MiG-31K jets, Ukraine’s military said, as well as nine Kalibr missiles from vessels in the Black Sea. Several other missiles, including the land-based, short-range Iskander-M, were also fired at Ukrainian targets, Ukrainian authorities said in an update.
“All 18 missiles were destroyed by the forces and means of air defense of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Ukraine’s military said.
Kinzhal hypersonic missiles were part of a host of new, advanced weaponry unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018. They are believed to have a range of about 1,250 miles, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think thank’s Missile Defense Project, and can carry either conventional or nuclear payloads.
Tuesday morning’s barrage was a “complex attack from different directions simultaneously,” the head of the Kyiv military administration, Serhiy Popko, said in a statement.
