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What is Kinzhal? Russia uses advanced hypersonic missile for first time in Ukraine

Putin termed Kinzhal missile as 'an ideal weapon' that flies at 10 times the speed of sound and can overcome air-defence systems

Russia has claimed to have used the Kinzhal, its state-of-the-art hypersonic missile for the first time in Ukraine on Friday, March 18, to destroy a weapons storage site in the country's west, the defence ministry said. The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal is a nuclear-capable hypersonic aero-ballistic air-to-ground missile. 

The Russian defence ministry on Saturday, said, "The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region." Russia has never before admitted using the high-precision weapon in combat. State news agency RIA Novosti said it was the first use of the Kinzhal hypersonic weapon during what Moscow calls a "special military operation" in the Ukraine.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Kinzhal missile "an ideal weapon" that flies at 10 times the speed of sound and can overcome air-defence systems. The Kinzhal was one of an array of new weapons Putin unveiled in his state-of-the-nation address in 2018. It has a range of approximately 1,500-2,000 km and can carry a nuclear payload or conventional payload of 480kg. It is believed that after its launch, the Kinzhal accelerates to a speed of 4,900 km/h and may even reach speed of 12,350km/h. 

Meanwhile, the Internet is divided over what to make of Russia's claim that they had used the advanced hypersonic missile in Ukraine. One user wrote, "There is no defense for what's coming." Another commented, "Russia’s reported use of a #hypersonic air-launched #Kinzhal against Ukraine is unsurprising: it will be both a signal to Ukraine that Russia has options to escalate, and a message to NATO." A third wrote, "The use of Russia's #hypersonicmissile Kh-47M2 #Kinzhal shows that Moscow, as it did in #Syria before, sees #Ukraine as a laboratory for testing its new military equipment. It also highlights Russia's difficulties on the ground."

Another user wrote, "Russia claims they used #hypersonicmissile #Kinzhal against #Ukraine. #propaganda or fact?." While one user asked: "What does the use of the #Kinzhal supersonic missile in the Russia Ukraine War mean? Russia has decided to drop its supersonic missiles in Ukraine, in a demonstration of its military capabilities, in a bid to show the West that it is determined to win the war by any means."