Russia’s defence ministry claims to have utilised hypersonic missiles in combat for the first time.

According to the ministry, Russian soldiers targeted an underground missile storage in Ukraine’s Ivano-Frankovsk area yesterday.

It is thought to have been carried out with Kinzhal – or ‘Dagger’ – missiles with a range of roughly 2,000 kilometres.

According to the Mirror, their speed combined with their ability to fly low makes them nearly ‘invisible’ to most missile defence systems.

Kinzhal missiles, according to experts, are capable of delivering nuclear warheads.

According to Vladimir Putin, the government began developing hypersonic weapons “in response to the United States’ deployment of a strategic missile defence system.”