The Russian- Ukrainian war entered the 24th day. The Russian side announced on the same day that the Russian army used the hypersonic missile Kinzhal for the first time to destroy a military warehouse in western Ukraine. The Ukrainian army confirmed that the military warehouse was destroyed, but it has not yet confirmed the type of missiles used by the Russian army.
More than three weeks have passed since Russia launched its invasion on February 24. Britain’s Ministry of Defence said Saturday that the Kremlin had not yet met its original military goals. Britain has warned Moscow could use “arbitrary firepower” if forced to change tactics.
In a video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again urged Russia to engage in meaningful peace talks to reduce Russian losses. Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s chief negotiator for the Russia-Ukraine talks, said on Friday that the two sides had narrowed their differences over Ukraine’s decision to abandon its NATO membership and adopt neutrality.
An analysis of satellite imagery taken by U.S. civilian satellite imagery company Maxar Technologies shows that Russian forces are excavating around military equipment northwest of Kyiv and building protective earth embankments around its military equipment.
NATO officials say Russia’s offensive to seize the capital has largely stalled. The Ukrainian military said two main routes for Russia to attack Kyiv had been blocked.
U.S. officials confirm Russia used hypersonic missiles on Ukraine
US officials confirmed to CNN that Russia last week fired a hypersonic missile into Ukraine, the first known use of such a missile in combat. The U.S. was able to track the launch in real time, the sources said.
Multiple sources told CNN that the launch was likely to test the weapons and send a message to the West about Russia’s capabilities.
Traveling at Mach 5 or faster, hypersonic weapons are difficult to detect, posing a challenge to missile defense systems. The flight trajectory of a hypersonic missile is much lower than that of a high-arc ballistic missile, which is easily detected. Hypersonics can also maneuver and evade missile defense systems.
The Pentagon has made developing hypersonic weapons one of its top priorities, especially as China and Russia are working to develop such weapons.