Hypersonic missiles move at five times the speed of sound and are unstoppable by conventional operational defence systems. The top US military commander in Europe, Air Force General Tod Wolters, told a US Senate committee earlier today that Russia has frequently launched missiles against Ukrainian military targets. “The majority of the strikes have been aimed at specified military objectives,” he added.
Only 10 days ago, Russia declared the destruction of a significant weapons store in the Ivano-Frankivsk area of western Ukraine with hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles.
This latest change comes after the Kremlin provided its boldest hint yet that it will scale back its invasion of Ukraine, despite the fact that the assault has made very limited progress.
The Russian defence ministry announced that the “first phase” of operations had concluded, and that the country will now “focus” its “primary efforts” on the Donbas area.
Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoy stated that the “primary goals of the first stage of the operation have been mainly achieved.”
Only 10 days ago, Russia declared the destruction of a significant weapons store in the Ivano-Frankivsk area of western Ukraine with hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles.
This latest change comes after the Kremlin provided its boldest hint yet that it will scale back its invasion of Ukraine, despite the fact that the assault has made very limited progress.
The Russian defence ministry announced that the “first phase” of operations had concluded, and that the country will now “focus” its “primary efforts” on the Donbas area.
Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoy stated that the “primary goals of the first stage of the operation have been mainly achieved.”
The negotiations, which lasted several hours, were termed as “productive” by Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medisnky.
However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the US has seen no indication that peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are progressing in a “productive” manner.
During a trip to Morocco, he said, “There is what Russia says and what Russia does, and we are focused on the latter.”
“And what Russia is doing is continuing to brutalise Ukraine.”
He also stated that Moscow authorities would be “profoundly delusory… if they imagine that an endeavour to enslave solely the eastern or southern parts of Ukraine… can succeed.”
The Russian assault has been moving more slowly than predicted, resulting in a large number of Russian deaths.
According to the Ukrainian Army, 15,600 Russian servicemen have been killed in the conflict thus far.
This statistic would imply that more Russian troops were killed in a month of battle than were killed during the ten-year-long Soviet-Afghan War.
According to US estimates, between 2,000 and 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed.
Meanwhile, about 3.9 million people have fled the nation, while an estimated 6.5 million have been internally displaced within Ukraine.
