There is evidence Russia has an advanced hypersonic missile, Ukraine claims.
The missile claimed to have been used is described by experts as impossible to shoot down.
In a Telegram post by the Ukranian government-run Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, they said debris recovered after an attack on February 7 pointed to the use of a Zircon hypersonic cruise missile by the Russian military.
“Markings on the parts and fragments, the identification of components and parts, and the features of the relevant type of weapon” point to the first-ever use of the Zircon in combat, the institute, which run by Ukraine's Justice Ministry, said.
The post was put up along with a video showing debris believed to be from the missile.
Authorities reported 38 people were injured and four people were killed during the February 7 attacks.
No casualties have been directly linked to the alleged Zircon missile.
Russian state media has given no mention of the launch platform of the missile, but previous reports in the state media have said it was deployed on a warship.
Experts have said the Zircon, if it lives up to what the Russian government says about it, is a formidable weapon, CNN reported.
Supposedly, the missiles hypersonic speed makes it invulnerable to even the best Western missile defences, such as the Patriot, according to the United States-based Missile Defence Advocacy Alliance.
The alliance says its speed has been put at Mach 8, or almost 9,900km/h. Hypersonic is defined as any speed above Mach 5 (6,126km/h).
“If that information is accurate, the Zircon missile would be the fastest in the world, making it nearly impossible to defend against due to its speed alone,” the alliance says on its website.
SHARE ME